On the road in Berlin's districts : Janz normal capitalism

Wilhelmsruh, one of the smallest of Berlin's districts, Mainly consists of a small living area and a large industrial area. The latter has to go through in the course of its hundred year history, the typical stages of Berlin's economic development: thriving in the green currently, destroyed in the Second world war, isolated during the years of division, changed after the reunification.

the beginning of the Industrial Sigmund Bergmann, who bought the land in 1906, because his ordinary works in the Wedding out of space. A turbine plant, a substation, and later, armor holdings, the attacks made the terrain in the war, the aim of allied bomb was created. Was not much of a miner-works left, as of 1945, the Red army in the District went in.

DDR-Comic about capitalist people dealer

What was up, it was four years later to the state-owned enterprise Bergmann-summarized Borsig. What happened then is illustrated in a Comic book that I discovered in a small library on the premises. He appeared in the GDR youth magazine "Atze" under the title "It happened in Wilhelmsruh". It is the year 1961, as a pair of brazen agents from the American sector to try to kidnap an engineer of the VEB Bergmann-Borsig in the West.

A vigilant police officer can prevent this from happening, but because the capitalist traffickers kidnap in those days, constantly East German scientists, Doctors and specialists, the socialist state is only a way out: Under the cheers of the East Berlin population is a built in anti-fascist protection wall across the city.

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this order May be, the GDR had the feeling that the people in Wilhelmsruh the construction of the wall particularly well justified, because he was here, at the zone boundary, is particularly noticeable: The wall barricaded the access to the S-Bahn station Wilhelmsruh, which was now entered only from the West, during the Wilhelmsruher had to drive by Pankow from the Bus.

Black Music Box is spreading steadily on the miner's Area

A librarian who had formerly worked in the VEB, told me about the time of the transformation, as the miner-works were taken over by a West-competitors and the majority of the workforce lost work. Shortly afterwards, the old library of the district was received, restored, sits a few Volunteers on their own in the gatekeeper's house of the miner-works, in the today, the completely volunteer-operated library. The history of the factory premises would not have been able to find a reasonably happy ending – if the thick end was coming.

In the increasingly de-industrialised site has spread since the turn of a steadily growing company for event technology: Black Box Music, primarily known as a Tour organizer of Rammstein. Its logo, a Skull with crossed microphones, specied in the meantime, the half-Bergmann-Area and on your last round of enlargement, the company has now purchased the historic gatekeeper's house. The library is in front of the From to me the voluntary is full of bitterness told, your lease will not be renewed. "The janz normal capitalism," complained one of the women.

If there is a history with steam turbine starts and at the end of a subculture-the Empire makes everything flat, then that is probably actually the normal Berliner capitalism.

area: 1,37 km2 (94 of 96)

population: 7529 (place 81 out of 96)

average age: 45,5 (Berlin: 42,7)

local celebrities: Sigmund Bergmann (Industrial), Thilo Goos (music entrepreneur)

Feels like in the middle: main street

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91 districts, our columnist Jens Mühling already visited. All the consequences of the "Mühling comes of rum," to Read, see: www.tagesspiegel.de/96malberlin

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Berlin-Wilhelmsruh a visit To the Rammstein Store

Andreas Hartmann

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