Post #2: Willkommen im Palast

In Schley’s narrative, Fabian, the fictionalized son of architect Heinz Graffunder, conveys to the reader the true meaning of the GDR Palast der Republik for ordinary East Germans. The building was a center for social life in Fabian’s youth, but Schley’s story opens with a gala event that probably takes place in 2003. The building had been closed for asbestos in 1990, but was reopened for cultural events in 2003 until its demolition. The asbestos had been removed along with many of the characteristic fittings—both external and internal—to prepare the building for its fate (which was, at the time, undecided). Schley corroborates the timeline with Fabian’s narration of the state of the palace interior. “The walls had for the most part been torn down,” he says, “the whole room was a fleshless skeleton, crossed by weight bearing steel girders and metal poles; of the more than a thousand globe lights which had once lit up the room only rusting iron fittings remained” (Schley, 174).

Cultural event in the gutted auditorium of the palace, circa 2003/2004

Auditorium in the heyday of the palace's social life, circa 1970's/1980's

Fabian’s childhood memories of the GDR recall a much more vibrant and lively place. In Ghosts of Berlin, Ladd spells out the many popular uses of the building. It hosted a five-thousand seat assembly hall which catered—not just to parliamentary sessions—but to public conventions and concerts (59). The palace also encompassed “spaces for meetings, concerts, and theatre performances, as well as restaurants, cafes, and a bowling alley” (59). The bustle of the golden years of the GDR building was symptomatic of its centrality, not just in the urban landscape, but in the social lives of East Berliners. It is this connection to what Schley refers to as “The Heart of the Republic,” that makes it so difficult for Fabian’s father to simply accept the building’s inevitable demolition for asbestos contamination.

East Berliners enjoying lunch in one of the palace's thirteen restaurants, circa late 1970's

East Berliners bowling in the palace's public alley, circa late 1970's

Ladd’s Companion Guide to Berlin reminds us that the palace and it public spaces represented Berlin’s “most popular gathering spot, a genuine place of popular entertainment in a city (and country) where such places were in short supply” (22). Behind the multi-use functionality of the building lay the idea of bringing parliament and people together. It seems difficult to imagine such a facility being built today, especially in post-911 world when security is of paramount importance. Nevertheless, the germ of the idea seems to have taken hold in present-day architecture. The parliamentary complex of the Albanian Republic, whose transparent roof allows the public to look in on parliamentary proceedings, seems to be rooted in similar concepts of uniting the government and the people. However, as it does not serve the function of cultural and social center of the populace, it is unlikely that the Albanian edifice will ever play as profound a role in the lives of its people as the GDR palace did in the lives of East Germans.

The above film, recorded in the early days of the palace, is testament to the building’s importance as the center to which all spokes of East German life and society connected. The GDR palace as the “Heart of the Republic” to which Fabian’s farther clung so dearly, comes to life in a way that sheds light on later heartfelt pleas to stay the building’s execution and preserve it for the future.