• by Julio Godoy (berlin)
• Wednesday, October 14, 2009
• Inter Press Service

Reconstruction of some of Berlin's historic buildings that were damaged during World War II or by the Communist regime that earlier ruled East Germany, is raising troubling questions about Germany's past, and its future.

The reconstruction programme takes a big step forward with the re-opening of the city's Neues Museum (New Museum) Oct. 17. A more controversial step is the planned rebuilding by 2015 of the City Palace, once the seat of Prussian monarchs.

The German parliament authorised reconstruction of the City Palace in 2007 after years of debate. The move was opposed by many historians and architects for what they consider the Prussian empire's dictatorial and imperial character, and its warmongering megalomania.

It was on these grounds that the East German communist government demolished the City Palace in 1950. In its place they built the Republic's Palace, which served as the seat of the country's central government until 1989.

After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the West German-dominated new national government ordered demolition of the Republic's Palace - because it was contaminated with asbestos. Since the demolition last year, the site has been a free green area.

The new City Palace will house the Humboldt Forum, planned as a research and exhibition centre for peace and dialogue among world cultures. It will be rebuilt at the original location in the heart of Berlin's 'Museum Island'. The new building will copy the original facade, but will have a modern interior.

The Humboldt Forum is an attempt to redeem the palace's past, and to turn it into a modern German contribution to peaceful exchange of ideas.

At a ceremony at the site in July, federal President Horst Koehler said the forum would be 'a unique home for the world's non-European cultures.

'Here, in Germany's heartland we (Germans) shall neither present ourselves nor our culture, but those of other continents,' Koehler said. 'These cultures shall find here a place to interact with each other and with the European and German cultures...But they shall remain themselves, authentic, and not become part of a unified world culture.'

Hermann Parzinger, director of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which coordinates the functioning and conservation of Berlin's historical museums and buildings, said the Humboldt Forum would be 'a magnificent opportunity to create something new in world culture and research.'

Parzinger told IPS that the Humboldt Forum would 'integrate museum, library, research, education, and exhibition activities, with new electronic media as central instruments.'

Partzinger pointed out that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) lists Berlin's museum island as a world heritage. 'This honour determines the character of the restoration and conservation of buildings, despite all modernisation one can undertake.'

Rebuilding of the City Palace was scheduled to be finished by 2015, but the plans have suffered a setback. A contract to Italian architect Franco Stella was cancelled last week on the grounds that he had not met the tender conditions. The government has appealed against the order.

But this has given new leverage to opponents of the reconstruction. They want the 552 million euros (780 million dollars) budget to be used for renovation of schools and universities.

A group calling itself Cancel the Castle has planned a demonstration Oct. 17 at the palace site. It said in a note that this was a site 'where symbols of power have been erected - first the Prussian power, later the Soviet (surrogate) authorities (in East Berlin). Now a small but power business group wants to re-install there yet another symbol of power.'

The New Museum that opens this week is not free of controversy either.

Originally built in the 1840s at the height of the Prussian monarchy following a suggestion by naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, it has been home to ancient collections, especially from Egypt.

One of its most precious exhibition pieces is the bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti. Its collection of Egyptian papyruses is also renowned.

But nobody in Germany is questioning its rights to holding Egyptian cultural treasures. And Parzinger has rejected any return of art and other treasures that the Nazi regime and its collaborators stole from their rightful owners, most of them Jews.

Parzinger said the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation had done 'exhaustive research on restitution (of some pieces), and concluded that the conditions are not fulfilled that would lead to returning the treasures to the early owner's heirs.' He said 'if in the future new documentation is available that supports the restitution claims, we shall give back the pieces.'

The Neues Museum will be officially re-opened this Saturday, after two days of free entrance.

The building was severely damaged during World War II, and remained in ruins. It almost collapsed in the late 1980s. Now, after more than 20 years of reconstruction, the museum is ready to receive an estimated five million visitors a year.

Parzinger said restoration of Berlin's historic centre will continue until 2028.

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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