Theater Abroad: Berlin, a Brief History

Berliner Dom, Construction, TV Tower

Berlin is a city constantly under construction (and reconstruction). The Church was built in the early 1900s, although it looks much older. In 1975 part of the building was reconstructed due to some damage done in WWII and because the communist government who didn’t want to honor a hall the Hohenzollern dynasty.

The picture in the middle depicts construction, which is constant in Berlin. In WWII as much as 80% of historic buildings were bombed. Now every major street seems to have a crane or big pipes. The big pipes pump out water so that foundations can be built because Berlin is basically on top of a swamp.

In 1946, Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the Socialist Unity Party allowed for this TV tower to be built to show the greatness of East Germany and the strength of the Soviets. While this building looks modern it finished construction in 1949.

Germany is a strange mix of designs. In the last century alone Berlin has survived WWI, An economic crash, WWII, intense national shame and horror, Soviet Occupation and the Berlin Wall. Each building is designed with a specific agenda in mind. The Berliner Dom was designed in the style of ancient Greece to seem more splendid. It was later torn down because of the communists while the TV Tower was built to show their greatness.

Regime change has changed the architecture of Berlin creating a city that is grand, disorienting and forever changing. Even now there are politics over what should be reconstructed. Some buildings may help unify Berlin, other’s mourn past events, other’s hail to aristocracy (such as castles), some are tourists traps and some are reminders of a bloody past.

This must all be remembered when viewing Berlin theater. Berlin theatre contains incredibly bold and stirring visuals, as will be seen in later posts.