Berlin Today

by Joseph Hajdu

Overview

Berlin from another perspective: The casual, relaxed atmosphere of the city has become a major draw card for young people seeking to move to Berlin, not just from the rest of Germany, but also from other parts of Europe and even further afield like the United States. What makes the special atmosphere of our city today? Joseph Hajdu from Australia directs the focus at certain aspects of Berlin life today, concentrating on places, people, and issues that help define the city's present social, economic and cultural character.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783863687250
Publisher:	Berlin Story Verlag
Publication date:	01/07/2012
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	270
File size:	6 MB
Language:	German

About the Author

Joseph Hajdu, author and journalist, came to Berlin for the first time in 1964. Since then he has visited the city regularly, conducted interviews among others with Richard von Weizsäcker and Eberhard Diepgen, and immersed himself in what for him is 'the most interesting town of the world'. Hajdu lives in Melbourne.

Read an Excerpt

The 12th of June 1987 was a clear, summer's day. The preparations at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate had been extensive and thorough. The stage was erected as close as reasonable to the western side of the Wall. Behind it was a screen in case the authorities in East Berlin tried to disrupt proceedings from their side of the Wall. However the central panel of this screen was transparent so that those people, seated in the outdoor square to its west, would have a clear view of the Brandenburg Gate. For this site had been chosen for very specific reasons: the Brandenburg Gate was the symbol of Berlin. And since 13th of August 1961 it had been literally at the sharpest and most brutal edge of the division of the city. For it was just twenty meters or so to its west that the Wall had been erected by East German Government to seal the escape routes of its people. Because of this the Brandenburg Gate had become even more than a symbol of Berlin. It was now also a symbol of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States and its allies, for it was at the Brandenburg Gate that communism and democracy abutted each other in the most jarring manner. So on that day President Ronald Reagan's desire to visit this site and to make a speech there would be the most symbolic gesture of his visit to West Berlin. He commenced his speech in a measured way, but his voice gradually rose and reached its declamatory peak when he uttered the words, 'Mr Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!' The West Berliners who were present broke out into prolonged and thunderous applause.

Table of Contents

Brandenburg Gate - Witness to Berlin history Spittelmarkt - Reuniting Berlin Bonn - The Waiting House for Berlin? Reichstag - The return of the politicians Paris Square - Critical reconstruction and the vision for a new/old Berlin Royal Palace - Filling the hole at the heart of Berlin Potsdam Square - Rebuilding the old Berlin icon Moabit and AEG - The death and hesitant rebirth of the Berlin economy Museum Island - The richness of the Berlin arts scene Kreuzberg - A strong flavour of Anatolia Oranienburger Straße 30 - New Synagogue and the revival of the Jewish community Prenzlauer Berg - From Socialism to the eco-bourgeoisie