Site Visite, 2023 – a performance on the roof terrace of Teufelsberg Berlin

From the ruins of the Second World War to today’s art and culture venue, the Teufelsberg has evolved over time. A visit into the past of this unique place!

In 1937, a military engineering faculty of the Technical University of Berlin was planned, which was to survive 1000 years. Construction stopped in 1940, the buildings remained in shell form and awaited completion after the “final victory”. However, the “monument to German power” was not to see a single lecture. 1946 In the search for a suitable place to place the rubble, the Senate decides on the Grunewald and the barely destroyed shell of the “Faculty of Defense Technology” as a stable foundation for the backfill. The backfilling of the Teufelsberg begins. From now on, 800 lorries loaded with 7,000 tons of rubble drive over the Teufelsberg every day, piling up 26 million cubic metres in the Grunewald over the next 22 years. In 1952, work also began on planting the Teufelsberg. A total of 480,000 trees and 40,000 shrubs are planted.

The birth of the Teufelsberg.

Today, the site is an important monument to the Cold War.

Illustration: Anna Lena Straube, Side visite, 2023, 12:18 pm, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 100 cm