The Streets of Berlin

Disclaimer: I've been traveling for a couple months and haven't done a post because I thought it might be easier to get it together when I had my computer. However, after a request for blog posts (thanks mom!) I downloaded the app. Without my computer I can't get my pics from my camera to my phone so you'll just have to make do with a few pics from my phone until I get home :)

Anyway...

Walking the streets of Berlin, and indeed Dresden Neustadt, the first thing you would probably notice is the buildings. They are absolutely covered in various types of street art and graffiti. While most cities would wash this away as soon as possible, it's clear that this doesn't happen in Berlin. There is a certain character and community atmosphere created by the street art.

To understand the significance of the street art in Berlin you need to know a bit about its history. As you might know, or probably could guess, the current culture of Berlin was shaped greatly by World War II and the ensuing Cold War epitomised by the Berlin Wall. 

At the end of WWII, Germany was split into 4 occupation zones controlled by the United States, United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union. Berlin, as the seat of power in Germany was also divided, even though it lay on the eastern side of Germany. The western side was split between the U.S., UK and France while the eastern side was controlled by the Soviet Union. Europe itself was divided by two separate ideologies - Western democracy vs. Eastern communism. The Soviet Union attempted to stop contact with the west by setting up border defences along the dividing line. These border defences as well as the extreme differences in ideologies was known as the Iron Curtain. The East was formed of a communist government and police state while the West was mainly democratic. 

Anyway, back to Berlin, the Iron Curtain took the physical form of a wall. As I said, it was divided into east and west even though it was fully on the Soviet side. West Berlin saw an economic boom in the 50s and the formation of a democratic government. East Berliners saw this happening and most desired to emigrate to the west side. During this time, the easiest way for anyone wanting to migrate from East to West Germany was to cross from East to West Berlin first. Thousands and thousands of Germans chose to do just that. That is why the Soviet Union felt it necessary to build the wall in 1961 - to prevent the mass emigration happening through Berlin. 

On the east side of the wall a strip along side the wall was cleared and defence measures were set, such as beds of nails, guard towers and trenches. This was known as the Death Strip. The west side of the wall was fairly abandoned and decrepit during the 60s. 

By the 70s, however, communities starting forming on the west side closer to the wall. At first, the graffiti on the wall was just that - graffiti. But by the end of the 70s, genuine works of art were being painted, sprayed or stencilled into the wall. The western side of the wall became a collection of murals. Many of these murals can be seen on bits of the wall around Berlin and at the East Side Gallery which is where nearly a kilometre of the wall can be found. 

The border between East and West Berlin was opened back up in 1989 and the wall came down in 1990. East Berlin exploded with street art in response to their newfound freedom. 

Though uncommissioned street art is not technically legal in Berlin, it goes more or less unstopped. Apparently the authorities focus more on the tagging crews but leave the more artistic pieces alone. This is probably due to the fact that the street art of Berlin is an attraction to the city for tourists - which is an important industry for this city which is millions of euros in debt. In fact, Berlin was named City of Design by UNESCO, no doubt in part thanks to the art-filled streets. 

Here is an interesting article that examines some of Berlin's well-known street artists and gives a more detailed history: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/the-heritage-of-berlin-street-art-and-graffiti-scene/

The community feeling I mentioned earlier is also important to a city once so divided. While the street art culture has dark roots and serves as a reminder of recent history, it is still something that unites the city in a celebratory way. Street art was first a form of protest against oppression and then a memorial to freedom, which the city celebrated as one, East and West together in their joy.