Commemorative Plaque Commission
The Commemorative Plaque Commission of the District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
The commemorative plaque commission is an advisory body for the district council and the district office. The commission deals with the care and maintenance of existing commemorative plaques and evaluates proposals for new commemorative plaques and street names. It is composed of one representative (on the district council) of each of the fractions and groups within the district council; of a member of the district office for district history, who also assumes the role of chair; of the head (or representative) of the culture and history division of the district office, as well as five interested and competent individuals from the subject-relevant public (for example, victims organized within the Memorial to the German Resistance, Historians). Currently, representatives of this subject-relevant public are:
Frieder Böhne (VVN/BdA), Dr. Dirk Moldt (Forum Erinnerungslandschaft Friedrichshain), Dr. Hans Rainer Sandvoß (Memorial to the German Resistance), and Martin Schönfeld (Kulturwerk des bkk Berlin – office for art in public space).
The commemorative plaque commission is tasked with the following:
- Care of existing commemorative plaques
- Collection and registration of proposals for new works of remembrance or for street name changes
- Commissioning the culture and history division of the district office and/or an expert council with the evaluation of historical facts in text, design, and presentation
- Consultation on plans for commemorative projects, preparation of plans for the district council
- Clarification and determination of funding
- Supervision of measures and methods for installation
Fulfillment of these tasks is supported by the division for culture and history of the district council.
An example of this commission’s work is the naming of the streets surrounding the o2-Arena.
At the Foundation of Democracy. The Revolution of 1848 and the Cemetery of Those Who Perished in the March Revolution
Since 29 May 2011, an exhibit on the Berlin March Revolution and the history of the cemetery has been open to the public. This public is called to actively create the path to a memorial to German democracy. How does a reunified Berlin, a united Germany, want to remember this “foundation of democracy”, in the Revolution of 1848 and its victims, in the future?
Exhibit-Pavilion to the March Revolution
In front of the cemetery, a 30-meter-long container was installed especially for this purpose. It serves as an exhibit pavilion and information desk. There, the history of the Berlin March Revolution of 1848 is told in the frame of the European and national context. Images and documents, as well as biographies of individual actors and a multivision of the battle in the streets bring the eventful days of 1848, which changed the world, to life. Rudolf Virchow, for example, wrote the following words to his father on 19 March 1848: “Yesterday afternoon, the first battle began; for 12 hours the city resounded with the thunder of canons and light artillery – today, the people have emerged victorious, and hardly have the royals been spared from miserable debris. In this moment, Berlin celebrates the revolution […] with a stream of gleaming lights, and the city is filled with the sounds of celebratory shots from all corners.” After the failure of the revolution, the would-be pathologist had to leave Berlin.
Opening hours: Thursday–Tuesday 10:00–18:00
Sunday 16:00 public tour
Current information can be found on the homepage of the cemetery of the Märzgefallenen.
Barnimstraße Women’s Prison
An unusual memorial to the Barnimstraße women’s prison (only available in German language):
"A listeners' journey through a prison for women and five political systems"
By christoph mayer chm.
Seven artists were commissioned with designing a comprehensive concept for a memorial to the former women’s prison in Barnimstraße. The jury, under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Stefanie Endlich, recommended implementation of the design "A listener’s journey through a prison for women and five political systems" (Hörweg durch ein Gefängnis für Frauen und 5 politische Systeme) by Christoph mayer chm. An audio tour allows for immersion in the personal experiences of the women imprisoned in Barnimstraße and precisely reconstructs a building that is no longer standing. Listeners encounter the history of the site while moving through it and find themselves in the position of the women imprisoned there, within different political systems. They are introduced to the perspectives of these women and are confronted with the decisions that brought them to prison in the first place.
A project in collaboration with the Paul Singer organization (e.V.), supported by the chancellery of the Berlin Senate for cultural matters and by the capital culture fund (Hauptstadtkulturfonds).
Regular opening hours:
Monday–Friday 10:00–18:00
Entrance free
Closed on official holidays
Gelände der Jugendverkehrsschule
Eingang Weinstr. 2
10249 Berlin