25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Wall

The Berlin Wall, Detail #5 from The Wall, Niederkirchner Strasse

The Berlin Wall, Detail #6 from The Wall, Niederkirchner Strasse

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall. For almost thirty years the Berlin Wall divided a city and defined a generation around the world. This photograph surveys one of the last remnants of the wall, an iconic relic of the Cold War, protected for posterity behind a fence. The wall was badly damaged in 1989/90 by “wall-peckers” who attacked it with hammers during the nights after the border was opened on November 9^th, 1989.

At 2 a.m. on August 13^th, 1961, East German soldiers began building the wall with barbed wire. Soon, West Berlin was enclosed by a fortified frontier 160 km long. Officially known as the Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart, the wall was really put up to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. Eventually, the barbed wire was replaced with a concrete wall measuring 3.6 metres high. There were up to 14 border crossings, including Checkpoint Charlie.

In 1962, a second barrier was added approximately 100 metres behind the original wall, thereby creating a “no man’s land” between the two walls. The two images above show a strip of the border or outer wall that was built in the style known as the Grenzmauer 75. This was the “fourth generation” of the Berlin Wall and it began replacing earlier versions in the mid-1970s. It consists of L-shaped pre-cast concrete sections topped by an asbestos-concrete pipe 40 centimetres in diameter.

In Berlin today, little evidence of the wall remains. This 200-metre section runs along the south side of Niederkirchner Strasse. Leslie Hossack’s photographic installation entitled The Wall, Niederkirchner Strasse meassures over 18 feet long. It is on view at the 25 BERLIN exhibit at The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum until March 31st, 2015.

The Wall, Niederkirchner Strasse is part of Hossack’s larger body of work that includes Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and Sir Winston Churchill’s London. To view more images, please visit her website. lesliehossack.com

Hansel & Gretel illustrated by Arthur Rackham

The House in the Woods, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

photograph © Leslie Hossack

The house in the woods in this photograph is one of hundreds built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. These houses are located in an idyllic forest along the shores of Krumme Lanke, on the west side of Berlin in Zehlendorf. Detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank.

The photograph above shows a typical example of Nazi residential architecture: tiny houses with steep tile roofs and shuttered windows scattered about in a natural setting. To see more details, please click on the picture.

illustration by Arthur Rackham

The woods in the image at the top of the page makes me think of the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. British artist Arthur Rackham became famous for his illustrations in the 1900 edition. Created to accompany Hansel and Gretel, the reproduction above is a well-known example of Rackham’s work.

Do Nazi ghosts still walk these paths?

House at Number 3, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

Do Nazi ghosts still walk the tree-lined streets of this Zehlendorf SS settlement? That depends on who you ask.

Today’s image, House at Number 3, Zehlendorf, reveals a street of almost identical houses, starting with the house at number three on the left. By scrolling back to earlier posts, it is easy to see the major structural similarities and the minor decorative differences among the houses in Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke.

For the past week, the photographs posted on Haute Vitrine have featured these historic homes located outside of Berlin. They were built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. These detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank. This tranquil neighbourhood is situated in an idyllic forest setting along the shores of a lake.

Celebrated German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher are well-known for their typologies, i.e. their extensive series of photographs of buildings and industrial structures. In photography, the term typology refers to an approach that focuses on a group of similar objects. It was the Bechers who introduced the term “typology” into photography. Their images of frame houses, water towers, and other industrial structures (usually presented in sequences or grids) are certainly the most famous examples of typological photography..

So this begs the question. Is this current series of houses in Zehlendorf a random collection of cookie cutter cottages? Or is it a typological series of photographs as defined by the Bechers? Interestingly, their first book was Framework Houses of the Siegen Industrial Region (1977) which presented a series of photographs of simple German houses.

a walk through former Nazi neighbourhood

During the past week, I have been posting photographs of historic homes located in Berlin. They were built by Hitler’s Nazi regime for SS officers and their families in Zehlendorf. Situated in an idyllic forest setting along the shores of a lake, this tranquil neighbourhood, now known as Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke, is a very appealing suburb on the west side of Berlin.

House Number 31, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2101

House Number 5, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

House at Number 26, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

House at Number 4, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

House at Number 22, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

Can you spot the similarities and differences?

House at Number 22, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

Today’s image, House at Number 22, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010, is a virtual template for the photographs in my four previous posts: House at Number 4, House at Number 26, House at Number 5, and House at Number 31. In this close up image, the architectural details on the front facade are clearly evident. By scrolling back to earlier posts, it is easy to see the significant structural similarities and the minor decorative differences among the houses.

This week, the photographs posted on Haute Vitrine feature historic homes located in Berlin. They were built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. These detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank. They are situated in an idyllic forest setting along the shores of a lake. This tranquil neighbourhood is now known as Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke.

Does German architecture inspire typologists?

House at Number 4, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

Today’s image, House at Number 4, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010, is very similar to the photographs in my three previous posts: House at Number 26, House at Number 5, and House at Number 31. Perhaps there is something about German architecture that makes photographers want to create a series of images of similar structures.

Celebrated German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher are well-known for their typologies, i.e. their extensive series of photographs of buildings and industrial structures. In photography, the term typology refers to an approach that focuses on a group of similar objects. Generally, typological photographs are identified by an empirical, straight-forward appearance, with great detail and clarity in the prints. They are often displayed or reproduced in a series.

It was the Bechers who introduced the term “typology” into photography. Their images of frame houses, blast furnaces, water towers, and other industrial structures (usually presented in sequences or grids) are certainly the most famous examples of typological photography.

Nazi architecture meets Bechers’ typology

House at Number 26, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

Today: House at Number 26, Zehlendorf, Berlin. Yesterday: House at Number 5. The day before: House at Number 31. Three images of three similar structures…

This week the photographs featured on Haute Vitrine are historic homes located in Berlin. They were built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. These detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank. They are situated in an idyllic forest setting along the shores of a lake. This tranquil neighbourhood is now known as Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke.

The detached house in this photograph is similar to those in the two previous posts. Celebrated German artists Bernard and Hilla Becher are well-known for their typologies, i.e. their extensive series of photographs of buildings and industrial structures. The use of the term typology within photography refers to a methodical image-making approach that focuses on a group of similar objects. Generally, typological photographs are identified by an empirical, straight-forward appearance, with great detail and clarity in the prints. They are often displayed or reproduced in a series.

It was the Bechers who initially introduced the term “typology” into the vocabulary of photography. Their images of blast furnaces, water towers, frame houses, coal mine heads, and other industrial structures (usually presented in sequences or grids) are the most famous examples of typological photography. encyclopedia-of-twentieth-century-photograph

So this begs the question. Is this current series of houses in Zehlendorf a random collection of cookie cutter cottages? Or is it a typological series of photographs as defined by the Bechers?

cookie cutter cottages or Bechers’ typology?

House at Number 5, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

The houses featured on Haute Vitrine this week were built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. These detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank. They are located in an idyllic forest setting along the shores of Krumme Lanke, on the west side of Berlin. This tranquil neighbourhood is now known as Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke.

The detached house in this photograph is similar to the one in yesterday’s post. Celebrated German artists Bernard and Hilla Becher are well-known for their typologies, i.e. their extensive series of photographs of industrial structures. The use of the term typology within photography refers to a methodical image-making approach that focuses on a group of similar objects. Generally, typological photographs are identified by an empirical, straight-forward appearance, with great detail and clarity in the prints. They are often displayed or reproduced in a series.

So this begs the question. Is this current series of houses in Zehlendorf a random collection of cookie cutter cottages? Or is it a typological series of photographs as defined by the Bechers?

Nazi SS settlement now idyllic Berlin suburb

House at Number 31, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2101

Over 70 years ago the Zehlendorf settlement was built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. This exclusive neighbourhood was constructed in an idyllic forest along the shores of Krumme Lanke, on the west side of Berlin. Today, things still look much the same there as they did in 1945 when the Nazi government surrendered at the end of WW II.

The setting reminds me of the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. In the story, two children are threatened by an evil witch who lives in a charming cottage deep in the dark woods.

The photograph above shows a typical example of Nazi residential architecture. The tiny houses with steep tile roofs and shuttered windows are scattered about in a natural setting. These detached, semi-detached and terraced houses were allocated to SS officers according to rank.

In his book titled Architecture in Berlin 1933 – 1945, A Guide Through Nazi Berlin, Matthias Donath writes: Most of the residential buildings and settlements … were given a more traditional form. The buildings had steep tile roofs; the windows could be closed with shutters. The appearance of half-timbered construction gave the houses a local flare. A typical example of this is the Zehlendorf SS settlement built in 1938 – 1940 in Berlin that now bears the name Waldsiedlung Krumme Lanke.

Hansel & Gretel in the Zehlendorf SS settlement

Two Houses, Zehlendorf, Berlin 2010

These houses were built by Hitler’s National Socialist regime for SS officers and their families. They are located in an idyllic forest along the shores of Krumme Lanke, on the west side of Berlin in Zehlendorf.

This setting makes me think of the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. In the story, the two children are threatened by an evil witch who lives in a charming house deep in the dark woods.