Zwischen Ost und West

The building now housing the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) has borne witness to Germany‘s turbulent 20th century history. It was constructed during the First World War as an administration building for the Prussian state. In the 1920s it was in the midst of the vibrant Berlin scene around Potsdamer Platz – at the time, Europe‘s busiest intersection. The building escaped major damage during the carpet bombing of the Second World War and during the Cold War became an extraordinary symbol of the partition of Germany: It was situated directly on the fortified border of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The Berlin Wall, erected in 1961 between the East and West of the city, ran along the opposite side of the road. From the 1980s, the interior or hinterland wall (on the GDR side) was right up against the building. Present-day Stresemannstraße formed part of the “death strip” between the two walls.

After the Reunification, the building ultimately became the office of the BMUV in Berlin. Historical fragments of the interior wall have been integrated into the architecture and can be viewed here at their original location.