The Palast der Republik, East Berlin’s former peoples’ palace and parliament, is currently being demolished. Whilst many Berliners won’t be mourning its passing, not everyone is happy to see ‘Erich’s Lampenladen’ (Eric’s Lampshop) go. Despite also housing the government, the PDR had been a highly successful cultural centre and a popular meeting point. Many believed that the Palast’s role as a cultural focal point in central Berlin could be permanently revived. After years of standing empty, it had recently re-opened temporarily for exhibitions and concerts, meeting a great deal of success. But around the same time, the Berlin senate finally announced concrete (ahem) plans for the Palast’s demolition.
On a freezing afternoon in November 2005, I joined the protestors on one of the last ‘Pro-Palast’ demonstrations, and they told me about why they thought this ’steel and glass shell of a building’ was worth saving. Berlinshire at the Palast was broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM in London in March 2008.
(Voiceovers (Vielen, vielen Dank!): Barbara Scheuermann, Elijah, Claudia, Guenther Spiegel, Isabel Gahren, Manja Hellpap)
