31 July 2023

“A Hotspot of German History” – Launch of a multimedia presentation on the Akademie building on Pariser Platz

The Akademie der Künste building on Pariser Platz provides a unique window on recent German history. It is still possible to see traces of the varying functions it has been used for and the changes that have been made to its structure since 1907. The multimedia presentation, which is open to the public free of charge, shows how the disruptions and turning points of the twentieth century have inscribed themselves in the history of the site. It highlights the figures who have left their mark there and reveals how the Akademie’s past is intertwined with the political events that have unfolded through its history.

Pariser Platz 4 was not only used as the stately mansion of the Counts of Arnim-Boitzenburg, as the seat of the Prussian Academy of Arts and as Albert Speer’s headquarters, where he laid out plans for the “World Capital Germania”, it was also home to the master students of the Akademie der Künste der DDR and served as a base for East German border troops. In 2005, the Akademie der Künste moved into the new building designed by Behnisch Architekten, which incorporated parts of the old structure. The Max Liebermann Hall, which was preserved despite the damage it had suffered during the war, serves as a backdrop for the media presentation, which shows authentic building remains and historical photographs, film footage, plans and documents from the building’s eventful history.

Multimedia presentation “A Hotspot of German History”
Run: 1–26 August 2023
Opening times: Tue–Sun, 10 am – 7 pm; thereafter, always open when no exhibition is running
Free admission

For enquiries:

Werner Heegewaldt, Director of the Archives, tel.: 030 200 57-3100, archivdirektion@adk.de

Dr Ulrike Möhlenbeck, Head of the Historical Archives, tel.: 030 200 57-2232, moehlenbeck@adk.de