Memory, collective identity and urban design: The future of Berlin's Palast der Republik

Abstract

This article traces the history of debate over the future of the Palast der Republik in Berlin, built as it is on the site of the old Berlin Stadtschloss and home as it was to the Volkskammer of the former DDR. It is argued that while good urban design is important, nevertheless, the retention of sites of memory in the urban fabric is necessary not only to respect the ghosts of the past in this symbolically charged city, but also, in the case of the Palast, to respect the collective experience of present day East Berliners. Arguments for demolishing and retaining what some have referred to as the ‘architectural monstrosity’ of the Palast are considered and the likely outcome weighed in the ongoing contest over identity and meaning in the new German capital.