Briefly Historic: Tacheles and the Reichstag

We passed by whats left of Tacheles the other day. Built by Franz Ahrens Between 1907 and 1908, the Friedrichstraßenpassage as it was known upon completion – went bust only 6 months later. The Friedrichstraßenpassage was a massive five story complex built with reinforced concrete and featured an equally impressive dome. *This will become relevant later on.

A new department store moved in by 1909, but the company went bankrupt in 1914 and the building was sold off. The Friedrichstraßenpassage was remodeled in 1924, and by 1928 it was used by the AEG Company as well as the Berlin Commerzbank. With the new users it also received a new name – “Haus der Technik”. Fitting name for an electronics company. By the 1930s, the Nazi Party as well as the SS began using the building – with the Nazis taking “official” ownership over the building. The building sustained damages during the battle of Berlin but overall was still salvageable.

Multiple businesses moved into the building after the war, while the East German Army made use of the underground vaults left behind by the Berliner Commerzbank. Despite having survived the war in relative good condition, statisticians recommended tearing the building down in the late 1960s, early 1970s to make way for a new road. The slated demolition of the Haus der Technic came just at the “right” time. The Russian director Yuri Ozerov was working on his 5 part epic titled “Liberation” which depicted the Soviet liberation culminating with the Battle of Berlin.

While the majority of scenes were filmed in studious in Poland, Russia and Ukraine, a large portion of scenes for the Battle of Berlin were filmed in East Berlin. While the Soviet Uniforms and the majority of the military equipment in the movie were mostly original old stock, though the German counterparts were all reproductions. The Berlin Ubahn tunnel scenes were filmed in Moscow, though original Berlin Subway cars were used – which the Soviet Union had taken as reparations years earlier.

The Reichstag was off limits as it stood in the western sector of Berlin, but the Soviet film director was offered the next best thing: The Haus der Technik and the Berliner Dom. Clearly visbile in the photo below is the intact dome of the former Friedrichstraßenpassage

The Berliner Dom was used as a stand-in for the entrance of the Reichstag and it provided some more decorative interior scenes. You can easily spot where this was filmed today (the bullet holes in the pillars also match up).

And the Haus der Technic with it’s massive dome was the “perfect” replica for the Reichstag. With the building slated for demolition anyway, the film crew took no mercy on the building.

Here’s a clip of what the Haus der Technik looked like in the movie, standing in for the Reichstag.

Here's a clip of what the Haus der Technik looked like in the movie, standing in for the Reichstag 13/18 pic.twitter.com/lScUvBuugr

— Digital Cosmonaut (@iamkosmonaut) February 25, 2024

The majority of the building was torn down in the 1980s, with the entrance section being slated for demolition in 1990. Thankfully the building was occupied by the artist collective Tacheles (where the building gets it’s more recent name from). The building remained occupied and featured amongst other things a cafe, cinema and artist studios until all residents were evicted in 2012 (a lot of lengthy legal battles predated the eviction). The building was sold in 2014 and “renovated” between 2019 and 2023.

The monstrosity that arose where Tacheles once stood is symbolic for the massive cultural and economic shift happening in Berlin. The Londonisation of Berlin has permanently (negatively) altered the cultural identity of the city. This isn’t about nostalgia for the “old” wild west Berlin. Every piece of culture was soaked up and commercialised and sold off. “Alternative Berlin” was a marketing tool and large parts of the city have turned into soulless beige cubes. Berlin has now become the second most expensive city to rent in (the first being Munich).

But it’s all good – because someone made a shitload of money building an ugly pyramid on top of what was once the symbol of Berlins counter culture. Either way – the next time you walk past the gentrified Oranienburger Straße and whats lefts of Tacheles, you’ll know a little bit more about the building and its storied past.