Allies in Berlin - The Architectural Heritage

Mila Hacke

The exhibition presents large-format photographs of the Allies’ post-war buildings, highlighting architectural icons and unknown gems. These include cultural institutions, schools, and sports facilities as well as churches in barracks and housing estates. Some of the buildings are threatened with demolition. Also on view are the former headquarters and the Berlin Air Safety Centre of the four-power administration and the Kommandatura (command post) and airports of the Western Allies. The venture is, therefore, to view the Allies’ architectural legacy through today's eyes.

Mila Hacke has been exploring the architecture and architectural history of post-war modernism and of the Allied presence in Berlin for many years. Her architectural photos were shown in the exhibitions ‘Revisited – Allied Sites in Berlin’ in the Allied Museum (2010–11) and ‘Gifts of the Americans’ in Amerika Haus (2009).

The opening marks the 70th anniversary of the Liberty Bell, which was inaugurated on October 24, 1950, in Rathaus Schöneberg, and heralded German Reunification on October 3, 1990 – on which occasion the ringing was broadcast live to the Reichstag (parliament building).