The rebuilding of Berlin during the last decade of the 20th century has thrown up issues of how politics, history and place are linked in the formation of German national identity. The often-used territorial facet in creating a nation is placed here in a very specific urban context. Berlin as Germany's new capital has been marketed as a complete and reinvented city with new opportunities that became available due to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. The country as a whole has relied on the historical elements of the city as well as its modern architectural developments, which are found across the urban landscape of Germany's capital, to represent an evolved, mature state post-reunification. This paper presents an investigation into how Berlin has been used to articulate different notions of German national identity in the past decade. What follows is an analysis of Berlin and its architecture in terms of the processes behind, and the results of, urban development, rather than an aesthetic examination of how building styles can reflect and generate feelings of nation and national identity. The role of the élite in society, politics, architecture and planning is paramount in this investigation, examining the manipulation of certain facets of Berlin's recent urban development. Although not unitary, the élite takes the lead in presenting arguments and plans for the regeneration of historically specific sites in the centre of Germany's capital.
Berlin as a Conduit for the Creation of German National Identity at the End of the Twentieth Century
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.