In the View of Others: Berlin The International Discourse on European Post-war Modernism | Friday

Lectures, discussions and a film programme featuring, amongst others, Anh-Linh Ngo, Thomas Flierl, Robert K. Huber, Christoph Rauhut, Paul Sigel, Sandra Wagner-Conzelmann and Florian Wüst.

Programme on Friday, 6 November

6.30–9.00 pm

The event will take place in German, with AI-assisted simultaneous translation into English.

6.30 pm

Opening remarks

Anh-Linh Ngo (Vice-President of the Academy of Arts) and Dr Christoph Rauhut (State Conservator and Director of the Berlin State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments)

7.00 pm

Introduction

Sandra Wagner-Conzelmann, Thomas Flierl, Paul Sigel, Robert K. Huber

7.30 pm

City of Bodies

Film collage featuring short films and film clips by, amongst others, Sven Boeck, Hans Cürlis, Gitta Nickel and Marta Popivoda, compiled by Florian Wüst

Taking Stalinallee, Phase II, and the Hansaviertel as its starting point, this cinematic collage combines a multitude of perspectives on history and society, people and architecture, demolition and new construction in both East and West.

8.30 pm

Discussion

Marta Popivoda and Florian Wüst, moderated by Paul Sigel (in English)

The international conference ‘Im Blick der Anderen. In the View of Others: Berlin. The International Discourse on European Postwar Modernism’ is dedicated to the international media reception of post-war modernism during the Cold War – taking as its starting point the media coverage of the Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin and the buildings of Interbau 1957 in former West Berlin.

Architectural and urban historiography has generally used the political bloc formation following the Second World War as a key frame of reference for depicting the reconstruction debates of post-war modernism. This approach, however, overlooked the question of the extent to which prominent reconstruction projects were also received across the blocs, and the extent to which they contributed to the respective discourses on modernism in architecture and urban planning in the reporting countries.

The research project, funded by the Berlin State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments from February 2023 until June 2025, has produced a comprehensive overview of cross-bloc reporting on Karl-Marx-Allee I and II and the Interbau. Research was carried out in ten countries for this purpose. The USA, England, France, Italy and Denmark were selected to represent the Western ‘bloc’. The ‘Eastern Bloc’ is represented by the USSR, Poland and Hungary; Sweden and Yugoslavia represent the non-aligned and neutral states.

Extensive research was carried out in specialist journals, daily newspapers and contemporary publications for each of these countries. The conference papers present the findings of this research, some of which are highly surprising. The academic presentations are complemented by a film programme curated by Florian Wüst and a lecture-performance by the Ukrainian group DENEDE.

A project by the research group comprising Dr Sandra Wagner-Conzelmann, Dr Thomas Flierl, Dr Paul Sigel and Robert K. Huber, in cooperation with the Architecture Section of the Academy of Arts.

Funded by the Wüstenrot Foundation and in cooperation with the Berlin State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and ETOM NEB Lab