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The Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus (Detlev Rohwedder House) is a building in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
that, at the time of its construction, was the largest
office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. It was constructed between February 1935 and August 1936 to house the German
Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...
( - RLM), headed by
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, a leading Nazi. During the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(East Germany) it was known as the ("House of Ministries"). In 1992, it was named the ''Detlev Rohwedder Building'', in honour of
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder Detlev Karsten Rohwedder (16 October 1932 – 1 April 1991) was a German manager and politician, as member of the Social Democratic Party. He was named president of the Treuhandanstalt, responsible for the privatisation of state-owned property in ...
, the former President of the
Treuhand The ("Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as , was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to reprivatise/ privatise East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to German reunification. C ...
, which had its headquarters there 1991–1995, who was assassinated by far-left terrorist group
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...
in 1991. Since 1999, the building has been the seat of the
German Finance Ministry The Federal Ministry of Finance (german: Bundesministerium der Finanzen), abbreviated BMF, is the cabinet-level finance ministry of Germany, with its seat at the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus in Berlin and a secondary office in Bonn. The current Federal ...
.


Design and construction

The building was designed by
Ernst Sagebiel Ernst Sagebiel (2 October 1892 in Braunschweig (Brunswick) – 5 March 1970 in Bavaria) was a German architect. Life Sagebiel was a sculptor's son, and after his ''Abitur'' in 1912, he began his studies in architecture at the Braunschweig Univ ...
, who rebuilt
Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leav ...
on a similarly gigantic scale. One writer has described it as "in the typical style of National Socialist intimidation architecture." It ran for more than along
Wilhelmstraße Wilhelmstrasse (german: Wilhelmstraße, see ß) is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte and Kreuzberg districts of Berlin, Germany. Until 1945, it was recognised as the centre of the government, first of the Kingdom of Prussia, later of t ...
, partly on the site of the former Prussian War Ministry dating from 1819, and covered the full length of the block between Prinz-Albrecht-Straße and
Leipziger Straße Leipziger Straße is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte district of Berlin, capital of Germany. It runs from Leipziger Platz, an octagonal square adjacent to Potsdamer Platz in the west, to Spittelmarkt in the east. Part of the Bundesstr ...
, even running along Leipziger Straße itself to join onto the
Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Repres ...
, today housing the Bundesrat. It comprised a
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
skeleton with an exterior facing of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...
(a form of
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
). With its seven storeys and total floor area of , 2,800 rooms, of corridors, over 4,000 windows, 17 stairways, and with the stone coming from no fewer than 50 quarries, the vast building served the growing bureaucracy of the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
, plus Germany's civil aviation authority which was also located there. Yet it took only 18 months to build, the army of labourers working double shifts and Sundays. The first 1,000 rooms were handed over in October 1935 after just eight months' construction. When completed, 4,000 bureaucrats and their secretaries were employed within its walls.


Post-war

The Air Ministry building was one of the few Nazi public buildings in central Berlin to escape serious damage during the Allied bombing offensive in 1944–45. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended in Europe, the huge structure was quickly repaired, with only the ''Ehrensaal'' (Hall of Honour) being substantially altered. It was remodelled into the Stalinist neo-classicist ''Festsaal'' (Festival Hall), with the enormous Eagle and
Swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
that had adorned its end wall being removed. Once the work was complete, the building was used by the Soviet military administration until 1948, and from 1947 until 1949 by the
German Economic Commission The German Economic Commission (german: Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission; DWK) was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik). ...
(''Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission or DWK''), which became the top administrative body in the
Soviet Occupation Zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...
. At that time it became officially known as ''Haus der DWK'' ("House of the 'DWK'"). On 7 October 1949, the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(GDR) was founded in a ceremony in the ''Festsaal'', with
Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as president of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to ...
as President and
Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its foundation in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...
as Prime Minister ''(Ministerpräsident)''. Later the building served the
Council of Ministers of the GDR The Council of Ministers (German: ''Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.Starcevi, Nesha ...
and other affiliated organizations of the GDR, hence its new name ''Haus der Ministerien'' (House of the Ministries). Between 1950 and 1952 an extraordinary long mural, made out of
Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work and ...
tiles, was created at the north end along Leipziger Straße, set back behind pillars. Created by the German painter and commercial artist Max Lingner together with 14 artisans, it depicts the Socialist ideal of contented East Germans facing a bright future as one big happy family. In fact the mural's creation was a somewhat messy affair. Commissioned by the Prime Minister, Otto Grotewohl, Lingner had had to revise it no fewer than five times, so that it ultimately bore little resemblance to the first draft. Originally based on family scenes, the final version had a more sinister look about it, a series of jovial set-pieces with an almost military undertone, people in marching poise and with fixed, uniform smiles on their faces. Lingner hated it (as well as Grotewohl's interference) and refused to look at it when going past. With a degree of irony, the building became the focal point a year later of the
Uprising of 1953 in East Germany The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...
.


After reunification

From 1991–95, after
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, it housed the Treuhand (Trust Establishment), which privatised former enterprises operated by the East German government. Its first chairman, Detlev Rohwedder, was murdered by
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...
terrorists on 1 April 1991, and on 16 January 1992, the building was renamed the Detlev Rohwedder House (german: Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus) in his honour. From 1990, the Berlin branch office of the German Finance Ministry was also located there, and since 1999, following extensive refurbishment, the building has served as the Ministry's headquarters. At the north (Leipziger Straße) end of the building, a plaque commemorates the protest meeting of 16 June 1953, from which stemmed the following day's
East German uprising of 1953 The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...
. In 1993, the nearby 1950s Lingner mural was joined by another scene set into the ground nearby: a huge blown-up photograph of 1953 protesters shortly before their gathering was suppressed.


References


External links


German Finance Ministry brochure on the History of the "Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus"
{{Coord, 52, 30, 31.31, N, 13, 23, 2.4, E, region:DE_type:landmark, display=title Nazi architecture 20th century in Berlin Buildings and structures in Berlin Buildings and structures completed in 1936