More than the Mauer: The Promotion of the Ideological Conflict of the Cold War through the Reconstruction of East and West Berlin 1945-1961
Open Access
Author:
Millar, Marta
Area of Honors:
History
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Daniel Leonhard Purdy, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Kathryn Elizabeth Salzer, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Berlin Germany World War Two World War II Reconstruction Modernism East Berlin West Berlin East Germany West Germany Athens Charter Berlin Wall Le Corbusier Albert Speer post-World War Two Cold War
Abstract:
Though the division of East and West Berlin is primarily associated with the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the physical division of the city was already apparent in the months after World War Two ended. Instead, the clash of Cold War powers over the decimated city’s reconstruction was an earlier, yet equally stark division of Berlin. While the borders of occupied Berlin had been established on paper, the Western Allies and the Soviet Union both sought to advance their claim on the city and on the future of Germany through architectural developments that would assert their ownership over the identity of Berlin. This paper examines how the ideological struggle of the Cold War between 1945 and 1961 motivated the development of rival city centers, building styles, and housing projects in East and West, and how joint efforts at reconstruction were quickly waylaid even before the city government was divided. In particular, the creation of Stalinallee in the East and Hansaviertel in the West exemplified each side’s commitment to using the soft power medium of architecture to establish their ideological superiority. My research demonstrates that the physical manifestation of the contending architectural styles of East and West Berlin promoted the city’s split identity in the years before the Berlin Wall divided the city. It further examines the post-war narratives that arose during the reconstruction process, and the impact of this ideological conflict on the psyche of the German people, who sought to regain a sense of identity amid the manipulation of Cold War superpowers.
