Atlantica - 01.01.2006, Side 35

AT L A N T I CA 33
BERLIN a
Art hounds should head to the New National Gallery, located on Potsdamer Strasse.
tion of the Palast der Republik, the parliament building of the former
German Democratic Republic (East Germany). With its rotting bronze-
colored windows and decayed facade, the building is the definition of
an eyesore. The reporter couldn’t disagree more with the protesters he’s
capturing on TV.
“It’s a relic. It should come down,” says Gerhard Haunert. “I just
read that the Empire State Building was built in 18 months. We’ve been
discussing whether this should come down or not for the past 15 years.
This shows you the state of Germany,” he adds, referring to the recent,
long-term stagnation of the German economy that has caused a linger-
ing gray cloud to hang over the country.
Another reporter covering the protest, who was not interested in giv-
ing me her name, believes the Palast der Republik should stay. Filming
the protesters from just behind the statues of Marx and Engels located
in the grassy park southeast of the old parliament, she says: “It’s a
reminder of the failure of Communism. It’s a part of our history.”
The protests are in vain. The embattled GDR building is set for demo-
lition this January, although the joke goes that to get rid of the Palast der
Republik all one would really need to do is push it over. What’s rising up
in its place? That hasn’t been decided, and many Berliners insist there is
no money to build anything anyway. Sometimes change is a matter of
simple subtraction rather than addition.
THE STATE OF GERMANY that reporter Haunert complained about
034-41ATL106 Berlin.indd 33 16.12.2005 12:06:30