Field Trip: Cold War Bunkers in Underground Berlin

Even though our schedules were filled with academic visits to places related to Germany’s role in the European Union, we still had the chance to explore the beauty of some of Germany’s magnificent tourist attractions. One such place which captured my attention is known as the Cold War Bunkers located underground, in Berlin - a local guide kept us entertained by providing a “what if” perspective. Imagine a nuclear threat was in the midst, what would Germany’s population do? The poor would find refuge in underground bunkers, and the rich would escape to their private bunkers. When my colleagues and I entered the bunkers, I began to feel a little claustrophobic since the spaces were small. The box-shaped rooms resembled a prison-like feel – a truly horrid feeling. Now, imagine how German citizens would feel after being trapped in these rooms – no privacy, no comfort, and absolutely destitute of any experience regarding cooperative survival skills, which is of utmost importance when handling the maintenance of the bunkers. The first room, which consisted of two heavy metal doors (for entering and exiting the room), required the survivors to shower in front of everyone and change into yellow track suits (only one size was available thus those who would not fit into what seemed like a small size would not be able to wear the track suit, or maybe they would have to and be uncomfortable for a while). Next, we visited the bathroom which was a bit disturbing because the toilets did not have toilet seats and they seemed rusty – sanitation and privacy were lacking. The room where everyone would rest in consisted of uncomfortable bunk beds which did not have mattresses – they would be forced to sleep on what appeared to be hammocks attached to sturdy metal poles. In addition to the bathroom and resting room, the kitchen was the next room that we visited. The bowls and plates were made out of plastic and the cupboards were filled with non-perishable foods – from canned vegetables to canned beans. The pots were very big, which would allow the chef to provide portions for at least 50 people at a time. At the end of the tour, our tour guide emphasized that if a nuclear war did break out, the bunkers would have been destroyed because they were not built deep enough. Therefore, if citizens were forced to vacate their homes and hide in underground bunkers, it would have been in vain – a tragic ending to the magnificent, yet upsetting tour. Being able to walk through a bunker which would have been used if a nuclear war broke out is an experience that I will never forget. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures but some pictures can be found online:  http://www.viator.com/tours/Berlin/Underground-Berlin-Subways-Bunkers-and-the-Cold-War-Walking-Tour/d488-2796SUBWAY/photos. 

Field Trip: Our Last Stop - Leipzig!

 Located in Eastern Germany, Leipzig is well known for its Oct 9^th, 1989 peaceful candle protest. The peaceful candle protest began in Nicolaikirche, an old church in downtown Leipzig, where people gathered to stand up against the socialist GDR regime. As events continued to unfold the Berlin Wall came down almost a month later and this led to German Reunification. At the same time, however, this meant significant changes for the city of Leipzig (and East Germany in general). 

New Town Hall

      To learn more about this German city, we were lucky enough to be able to schedule a meeting at its New Town Hall, focusing on the topic of urban renewal. German reunification brought the city of Leipzig many new challenges. After reunification, industries in Leipzig quickly closed down when exposed to the competitive nature of West Germany's capitalist market in the newly reunified Germany. This led to a dramatic loss in jobs in Leipzig– about 100,000 jobs were lost in the 1990s. To make matters worse for the city, many of its citizens decided to move to West Germany in order to find employment. This resulted in a striking decline of the city’s population and many vacant residential areas as people could not afford to pay rent anymore. This problem persists into today where many vacant buildings remain and/or are in  need of serious renovation.

                                                      

We were able to understand the effects of  reunification on Leipzig quite well because we had already seen a glimpse of them during our first day in the city. While we were travelling on the streetcar from the train station to our accommodation, we passed many abandoned looking buildings with metal bars on the windows which led us to ask ourselves: ‘Why does this neighbourhood look abandoned – is it really? Why do the streets look so empty?’ The neighbourhood in which we stayed had an almost eerie quiet atmosphere. At our town hall meeting, we learned that the particular area we were staying in was the one that needed the most renovation. While this eerie, quiet, abandoned look was our first impression of the city, we soon discovered that Leipzig has a different side to it - it is aiming to be a competitive and vibrant city.

   Reunification brought many challenges to Leipzig, but the city has been hard at work addressing them in order to make itself more competitive and vibrant. In the last decade there was a slight increase in population (from 493,000 to 522,000) in the city - mostly people migrating from other parts of East Germany - and Leipzig is doing its best to attract new businesses. Right now Leipzig houses sites for BMW, Porsche, Amazon and DHL. This is significant because it gives the city a good economic boost, in the wake of the great de-industrialization it faced only a couple decades ago. For example, when BMW came to Leipzig about 5,000 new jobs were created. The city also has a number of projects and commitments in place in hope of being able to attract new investment and people looking for a place to call home. In order to ensure Leipzig would face the future and be able to continuously adapt to its changing economy and demography the "Integrated City Development Concept" was put into action in 2009.  This plan focuses on many aspects such as housing, education, civil society, culture, historical preservation, etc. This vision falls in line with the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities which shows that the European Union recognizes the important role of cities. 

For information about the Leipzig Charter

link: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/archive/themes/urban/leipzig_charter.pdf

For a recent report
 link: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/disadvantaged-neighbourhoods/lcfacil/news/?newsid=718

Mädler Passage Arcades

Further transformation of the city will take time and effort as things cannot simply be done overnight. One important aspect the city is prioritizing is tourism and its downtown area. After settling in our accommodation we went out to explore the city and found ourselves in the downtown core.  The downtown area was very polished, bright and busy, with simply amazing architecture. It was evident that much investment had gone into the city's downtown core. One particularly spectacular building was the Mädler Passage Arcades consisting of many high-end stores. The reason this area receives special attention is because, not only does it aim to attract different sorts of businesses and tourists in order to bring revenue into the city but it also presents itself as an attractive place for potential migrants looking for a city to settle in.

After visiting the central part of the city, we went on a walking tour led by Dr. Bernd Adamek-Schyma. This tour opened our eyes to the western part of the city and it was important to us because we were able to explore an area where the average tourist would be unlikely to visit. Unlike the area where our accommodations were located (in the east), the west part of the city was much brighter and many renovations were underway. The neighbourhoods we passed by in this part of the city appeared to be very close-knit and almost everyone in the community seemed to know each other.

      

Guardian Houses

One of the things that stood out for me the most was the concept of a guardian house. (Wächterhaus) It’s quite a fascinating project which was initiated by HausHalten e.V and is supported by the city of Leipzig and the European Parliament. The purpose of the project is to bring people into vacant residential areas. As mentioned earlier, as a result of reunification the city has many vacant buildings due to out-migration and unemployment.  As many of these buildings have remained empty for years they have begun to deteriorate and we now have what we would call, ghost neighbourhoods.  The HausHalten e.V established itself in order to help address the problem and preserve the buildings. The way this project works is that the owner of a vacant building provides living space for the tenant rent-free. The types of tenants consist of students, artists, and entrepreneurs.  They move into these buildings and in return cover maintenance costs and ‘look after’ the space. This in turns prevents the building from further decay and it is the tenant’s responsibility to keep the space in good shape. The tenant and owner enter into a legal framework which mediates their relationship.

Sign above door indicating that it is a guardian house

This is a great idea because not only does it revive neighbourhoods but it also helps to preserve historical buildings. Leipzig has many 19^thcentury buildings in rough shape and this project can help maintain them. As people move in, they take care of the space as if it were their own living space and the buildings come alive once again – in this sense they are the guardians of the building. Many of the tenants tend to be artists who use these building as a way to display their creativity. This is particularly great because it gives the city a cultural dimension. 

If you're interested in this subject, there is a video I found on YouTube which delves into the specifics of the concept, and can help give a visual of the city and the projects in progress.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGeUPre2_lI

                                                          

Scenery from our walk near the end of the tour