recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Torstraße

## coordinates

**Torstraße** is a two-kilometer-long street that runs north of the Platz. Its original line corresponds to the course of the Berlin custom wall. It owes its name to several gateways on the Berlin customs wall, including the Schönhauser Tor, which is directly adjacent to the square.

The following buildings are located on it:

* No. 6-8: Roter Stiefel
* No. 10-34: "Grauer Frachter", front part of the Nazi-Bauten
* No. 40: Emil Haus
* No. 44: Suhrkamp Verlagshaus

### history

All the parcels on the south side of the street were connected to properties on Linienstraße at the turn of the century. Due to urban planning requirements, the buildings on Linienstraße were no higher than four storeys, while the buildings on Lothringer Straße (how the Street was called by that time), partly directly connected to the buildings on Linienstraße, were a lot higher. In the course of the first phase of the demolition of the Scheunenviertel some houses were demolished, the road regulation dragged on for several years and was still a topic in the city council in 1913.

## References

1. ↑ https://digital.zlb.de/viewer/image/16046606\_1913/83/
Geschnitten Brot

**Geschnitten Brot** (german for *Sliced Bread*) is a staple item that can be purchased near the Platz. It tastes really good with everything and even without anything on it. The slices must have an exact thickness of 8 mm, otherwise it is not real Geschnitten Brot.
If a person is very successful in what he/she does, it is likely that he/she/it subsisted mostly on Geschnitten Brot. That's where in German the saying comes from, when *es bei dir so richtig rund läuft und einem dann das Wort rund nicht einfällt* (things are going really well for you and you can't think of the word round), you often say: *Es läuft bei dir ja wie Geschnitten Brot! (*It's going like sliced bread for you!*)*
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 39/41

The **Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 39/41** is a residential and commercial building on the Platz. The left part was built in 1913, the right in 1928. The rich interior design is highlighted by its stairwells.

In the 1920s, police station 7 was installed next to the Bierstübl to ensure an optimal view of the opposite Karl-Liebknecht-Haus. Paul Anlauf and his daughter Dora Zimmermann lived here by the time the police murders occurred.

Until the 1980s, the two restaurants *Pinguin Bar* and *Theater-Klause* were located here.

## References

1. ↑  http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/90064221
2. ↑  https://www.gettyimages.ch/detail/nachrichtenfoto/east-berlin-mitte-car-passing-by-the-two-restaurants-nachrichtenfoto/545707649
General strike

> *“The proletarians no longer believe in the goodwill of the black-red-gold government to take socialization seriously and want to show the ruling powers by depriving them of their labor power that that they are willing to give weight to their demands,"*
>
>

The ***General strike*** (sometimes also *March fights*) is a formative event that took place from March 3rd to March 8th, 1919 around the Platz.

Because the Berlin workers' councils did not see their demands from the November Revolution met, they called for a general strike on March 3, 1919. At this point, the strike had already begun in several Berlin companies. Among other things, the strikers demanded the socialization of key industries, the release of all political prisoners, the dissolution of the volunteer corps and the recognition of the workers' councils.

From March 4, the majority of workers took part in the general strike, bringing large parts of the economy to a standstill.

The Prussian State Ministry reacted to the general strike by imposing a state of siege on Berlin. The military and various volunteer corps marched into the city on March 4, 1919. In the Scheunenviertel and around Alexanderplatz, large crowds kept gathering and violent clashes with the police broke out. Shops were also looted and police stations stormed. Heavy street and house fighting broke out during the brutal military operations. The workers erected barricades and tried to storm the police headquarters on Alexanderplatz. It could not be finally clarified whether this was due to workers on strike or was staged by the military and people close to the Freikorps.

From March 6, the Freikorps struck back, whereupon the rebellious workers retreated to the east. In Lichtenberg in particular, there were further street and house fights. According to the Reichswehr Minister Gustav Noske, 1,200 people died in Berlin, other sources speak of 2,000 dead. Most of them were summarily shot after their arrest or died when the workers' living quarters were bombed.

During the general strike, the dropping of the aircraft bomb.

## Photos

workers marching at Koblanckstraße (Volksbühne on the left9street fights a the Platz in Hanke- corner Linienstraßefree corpses at Hirtenstraße ready to conquer the Platz
## References

1. ↑ Notice from the strike leadership in General strike: excesses and looting in Berlin in: Frankfurter Zeitung from 04.03.1919
2. ↑ taz from 03/12/2013
Ernst Lubitsch

still as a nestling (1920 approx.)

> *"I let the audience use their imaginations. Can I help it if they misconstrue my suggestions? “*
>
>

**Ernst Lubitsch** (born January 29, 1892 in Berlin; † November 30, 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA) was a human being who became famous worldwide above all for the Lubitsch Touch named after him, which shaped the Hollywood film comedies of the 1920s and 30s. He was born not far from the Platz and grew up in the Scheunenviertel.

## Life and work

#### before and during ∇

At the age of four, he and his family moved to Schönhauser Allee 183. When the ∇ was built about 450 meters south-east, he was a student at the Sophiengymnasium on Sophienstraße. So he experienced the first season of *Abriss des Scheunenviertels* every day until he left school at the age of 16. He then did an apprenticeship as a fabric dealer. When he met Max Reinhardt, however, he quickly found more interest in theater. After an engagement at the *DT* he acted under Reinhardt's reign on the Volksbühne. Whether it was the short commute to work or financial advantages or simply the general comfort in the *Hotel Mama* can no longer be said, at least he stayed in his parents' house until he was 29 years old.

#### **after ∇**

Lubitsch quickly switched to film and was particularly active behind the camera and went to where all filmmakers (even if almost everyone will deny it) are drawn to: Hollywood! The roaring twenties were indeed golden for him and both as a director and above all as a screenwriter he quickly rose to the top league of his field. The success of his scripts for comedies such as *Ninotchka*  (1939), *The Shop Around the Corner* (1940) or  *To Be or Not to Be (1941), which he also directed. This earned the Scheunenviertel offspring an Oscar for his life's work in 1947. The fact that he was able to pick it up personally before his heart stopped working six months later is further proof of this extraordinarily precise timing.*

Over the past few decades, attempts have been made again and again in his hometown to keep the memory of his life's work alive. Retrospectives of his films have repeatedly taken place at Babylon. Timothy Grossmann advocates that part of Weydingerstraße be named after him, which, according to Lubitsch's daughter Nicola, will probably not happen during her lifetime. <Ref name = "nicola"> < / ref>

A memorial plaque to Lubitsch that was handed over to the Zoo-Palast in what was then West Berlin in 1958 disappeared without a trace. Another one hangs today on the house where he spent his childhood.

In 2011 he was also honored with a star on the *Boulevard der Stars* (a pirated copy of the  *Walk of Fame)*  on Potsdamer Platz.

## Links

The Cinema of Ernst Lubitsch - Scott's fan page in English

## References

1. ↑  In Lubitschland: Nicola Lubitsch in conversation with the Frankfurter Rundschau
Blutmai

Events at the beginning of May 1929 are referred to as ***Blutmai*** (*Bloody May* sometimes also *May Riots*). The police reacted with violence to unauthorized demonstrations organized by the KPD. 33 people lost their lives and many more were injured.

### Starting position

In mid-December 1928, the Berlin police chief, Karl Zörgiebel, banned all meetings and rallies that took place outdoors. This ban was extended to all of Prussia in March 1929. The Prussian Minister of the Interior, Albert Grzesinski, warned the KPD in particular not to oppose the ban. If she called for riots and demonstrations around May 1st, the result would be a ban on the party. On April 30, the eve of May 1, traffic police officers in various districts of Berlin were attacked by members of the KPD. In addition, leaflets appeared that falsely announced that the ban on demonstrations in Berlin had been lifted. The KPD nevertheless called for peaceful demonstrations on May Day, and Karl Zörgiebel warned the workers against taking part in the demonstrations. May 1, 1919 was a special date: it was the 40th anniversary of the May Day rallies, which had been banned for much of their history. May Day was not a public holiday in Prussia.

### Turn of events

On the morning of May 1st, significantly fewer demonstrators showed up than expected by the KPD. The small trains, which streamed mainly from Neukölln and Wedding in the direction of Mitte, were violently broken up by the police with batons and water hoses. At midday, however, police repression changed the mood of the demonstrators, especially in the city's larger squares. The police tried to break up all the gatherings by force and repeatedly fired warning shots. The situation escalated in the afternoon: police officers shot SPD member Max Gemeinhardt because he had not immediately closed his apartment window as instructed. Workers erected barricades at various points to stop the police. They, in turn, used armored vehicles with machine guns and, on the evening of May 1, shelled houses with red flags.

### Aftermath

On May 2, 25,000 workers protested against police violence with a strike called by the KPD. But the police reacted again with harshness and violence: especially in the working-class districts, they showed a clear presence, apartments were searched and workers arrested. The armored vehicles with the machine guns were used again. Several people were shot dead by the police. Karl Zörgiebel then called a curfew. The riots, in which 33 people died and 250 people were injured (198 civilians and 48 police officers), ended on May 6.

### Meaning in ∇

Since the KPD was based in the Karl-Liebknecht-Haus, the Platz was considered a potential trouble spot for the threatening uprisings. On May 1, police officers shot indiscriminately in Koblanckstraße and injured several residents. Still, larger battles took place elsewhere that day. Only in the course of the police murders did the situation, which had been building up for years, finally escalate completely.

## External Links

* The "Blutmai" 1929 at Lebendiges Museum Online
* detailed documentation and cause research
Telefonzelle

* 2020
* 1940

The **Telefonzelle** is a telephone booth at the Platz. It is about 4.78 meters away from the Pavillon between the Spielplatz and Weydingerstraße. It is run by Deutsche Telekom. It has nine buttons and a pink handset. It has a roof made of glass, so it is very suitable for a phone call when the weather is bad. However, it now only has one side wall (left) and it is often a bit damaged (see illustration). Otherwise it is quite reliable and is used 0.5-0.6 times per week (measurement period: April 2020). The average duration of the calls is 3.04 minutes.

## History

 Just like the Litfaßsäule, it changed its position over time. In 1940 the *Fernsprecher*, a previous version of the Telefonzelle, was on the other side of the street at the entrance of the then Horst-Wessel-Haus. It was still there in 1950 (or again?) And, unlike everyone else (except the Volksbühne), it still had the same name. In 1955, however, it had already disappeared again for the time being.
Räuberrad

The **Räuberrad** is a metal robber's wheel on the Wiese at the Platz. It was also the emblem of the Volksbühne during the reign of Frank Castorf. It was designed in 1990 by Bert Neumann for a production of Schiller's *Die Räuber*. It is borrowed from the sign language of the crooks, a Rotwelschen minority in the former Scheunenviertel. The Swiss Rainer Haußmann (not related to the Leander Haußmanns family, a German troll) brought it to life in 1994.

With this,  *Alfi* , as the wheel was supposedly called by some, went on to become a media star and a style icon in the years to come. When the hype about their person grew, they got tired and began to think about moving out into the big wide world, the city of Berlin bought it for 11,000 euros (which at the time were still German marks) and condemned it to stay on the Wiese forever . From now on,  *Alfi*  could do nothing but surrender.

*"The Nazis have their swastika, we just have our robber's wheel."*

A hipster with a dialect of the Electorate of the Palatinate is said to have said in the canteen of the Volksbühne in an interview with a cultural studies journal called *Vice*. That was then the proof that a human year is about 30 Rotwelsche crook years and that the best time was over.

When time had come and the foster father Castorf had already survived his first of seven planned funerals, an obscure community of heirs spoke up and questioned the future guardian's claims to ownership of Alfi. In fact, Chris Dercon was very keen wnot to take away the dirty child's home" (liberal translation from Flemish). In the course of this inheritance dispute, the Räuberrad was cut into three parts by the departing ~~Kamikaze fighter~~ and his followers  and deported to Avignon. From there the Senate Culture Department bought it again for 25,000 euros  It was then given a makeover and exhibited it again on September 24, 2018 on the Wiese. So that it couldn't escape, its feet were rewelded. The incontinence of some of the four-legged residents of the square were blamed for it, because you always needed someone to blame.

In 2020 it was veiled as part of the Zirkumvention.

Since his return,  *Alfi*  has become relatively mute. Some people rumor that it is not the original robber's wheel and that it was either forgotten in a factory in Oberschweineöde or just acidified in some catacombs of the L40.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.pressreader.com/germany/neues-deutschland/20170403/281956017629547
2. ↑ https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/nach-der-castorf-aera-wie-weiter-mit-dem-volksbuehnen-rad/20796610.html
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/berlin-das-raeuberrad-kehrt-an-die-volksbuehne-zurueck/23057420.html
4. ↑ https://www.volksstimme.de/kultur/theater-raeuberrad-wieder-vor-berliner-volksbuehne
Hermann Blecher

this is how he could have looked like

**Hermann Peiser-Blecher** (\* March 5, 1893 in Jassinja, Austria-Hungary  as *Pejser Blecher, sometimes also Blechert*; † April 7, 1908 in Berlin) was a human being and at the time his murder an apprentice tailor. He is the namesake for the ∇-Republic of the same name.

After the death of his mother, he and his father Lieber Izig Blechert probably moved to the Scheunenviertel in Berlin in 1906. Here he began an apprenticeship with the master tailor Elias Laub at Steinstraße 1, where he lived before his violent death.  He was described as as shabby, hazel to black haired, with brown eyes and had a birthmark on his right cheek. His hairstyle corresponded more to the Slavic type. His toes were deformed due to incorrect footwear, in contrast to the well-groomed toenails, which were evidence of regular pedicures.

### Life and death in the ∇

In 1908 he was the main witness for a burglary. He tended to peddle and often stayed away from training for weeks. It was unclear where he slept during this time. According to his own statements, he earned his living by running errands and selling sweets in the vaudeville. Most likely, however, he was engaged in prostitution. In the last months of his life he was being treated for an inguinal hernia.

   ***See also: Murder of Hermann Blechert***

The night before his murder, he met August Heider in the Bouillonkeller, whom he knew by seeing. According to witness statements, the perpetrator and victim had already seen each other in the days before and gave the impression of having had an intimate relationship with each other. Together with a temporary waiter, they left the establishment around 5:30 in the morning. Blecher and Heider then went to Heider's apartment. Hermann was strangled during fights at around 8 a.m.

The court assumed that Heider wanted to rape the boy, who resisted and was killed in the affect.

After the deed, Heider dismembered Hermann's corpse, tied the parts up in different packages and threw them in different places in the Spree near Bellevue Palace. The first parcel was found in the morning hours of the next day, and a short time later also the others.  The first parcel was a piece of granite from one of the demolished houses in Kleine Alexanderstraße corner Linienstraße.

The father and Laub identified the body after it was on public display in the coroner's room for four days.

His case is featured on an episode of the ∇-Podcast:

## References

1. ↑ Friedenauer Lokalanzeiger from April 13, 1908
2. ↑ Der Knabenmord. in: Berliner Volkszeitung from April 13th, 1908
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 M.-S. Fahr: Pitaval Scheunenviertel. Verlag Neues Leben GmbH, Berlin 1995
4. ↑ Friedenauer Lokalanzeiger from April 14, 1908
5. ↑ Berliner Volkszeitung, August 14, 1908
Poelzig-Block 11

The **Poelzig-Block 11** is part of the Poelzig-Bauten. It was built in 1928 and 1929 after plans by Hans Poelzig. The construction company of Emil A. Bopst was responsible for the construction. The client was Alfred Schrobsdorff KG.

It is the only one of the Poelzig buildings still standing that is not sand yellow.
After completion, the Schultheiss-Patzenhofer Brauerei AG moved in with a bar on the ground floor. In 2001 the Merlin Pharmacy was housed here but later moved to the Poelzig-Block 6.

Today it houses several doctors as well as the pharmacy on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in the basement.

on the right just after it was finished2010 it was shining in white

## Links

* The Poelzig-Block 11 at the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin
Raids in the Scheunenviertel

The **Raids in the Scheunenviertel** were a recurring event in which attempts were made, with great success, to spoil the mood of the residents on the basis of *minor attributes* such as religious affiliation, nationality or appearance. The center of the searches was always Grenadierstraße but the remaining streets were not spared either.

In the 1920s, the Scheunenviertel was the most densely populated area in Berlin. Among the residents were many Orthodox Eastern European Jews who had fled to Berlin from pogroms in Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine. In the public debate they were often referred to only as "Eastern Jews", which was a synonym for "backward".  Anyone who suspects that this type of event only became *en vogue* in Germany after 1933 is mistaken: On November 5 and 6, 1923, the first pogrom of frustrated unemployed people took place in Grenadierstraße . The police discreetly recovered and then arrested some of the attacked.

The police carried out further raids in 1920, 1923 and 1933. The reporting warned the masses of the “slider-puller” and “criminal elements” of the Scheunenviertel, who are known to be very into such “crime stories”.

Also in April 1933 a large anti-Semitic police raid took place, which was staged as a media event, much to the delight of the organizer Joseph Goebbels. The raid was accompanied by photographers who showed the Jewish residents of the district as backward and alien in their photos, thus serving anti-Semitic stereotypes. Police interrogations were also broadcast directly on the radio, but only of those people who spoke broken German.  A live event like from the times of Reality TV, which served as a prequel for what was to come in the Scheunenviertel in the coming years and in the second Season of the Demolition of the Scheunenviertel found another "peak".

## Links

* Berlin and its society under National Socialism on: Deutschlandfunk
* Podcast of the 1933 edition

## References

1. ↑ I. Kirschey-Feix: Treffpunkt Scheunenviertel: Leben im Schtetl, Neues Leben Verlag, Berlin 1993
2. ↑ Jewish Museum: Berlin Transit. Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe in the 1920s. Wallstein 2012.
3. ↑  M. Pfaffenzeller: "Pogrom im Scheunenviertel" at Spiegel Online
4. ↑ K. Hesse: "Directed images. Propagandistic perspectives and photographic staging of the Reich capital." In: M. Wildt, C. Kreuzmüller: Berlin 1933–1945
Alte Schönhauser Straße 19 / Steinstraße 1

***Alte Schönhauser Straße 19 / Steinstraße 1*** was a property spread on two parcels with two front houses and separate toilets in the backyard. In 1908 Hermann Blecher was officially registered at Steinstraße 1 with his teacher, the tailor Elias Laub. Blecher was last in the house the day before he was murdered. He left after an argument with Laub, which ended in Hermann being slapped and never returned. In 1929, M. Fisch lived in the same house. He belonged to the board of directors of the "Tyfereth Israel" synagogue at Dragonerstraße 45.

Auguste Schmidt had been the caretaker of the house since 1919 and lived in the ground floor apartment at Alte Schönhauser Straße 19. On April 10, 1937, the worker Feodora Langbein was murdered there by Martin Batzkowski. From March 1935 she lived in a room on the 3rd floor of the front building in the family's four-room apartment Berkowitz. The entire apartment costed 75 marks a month.At that time, the innkeeper Friedrich Podann was also registered in the house, likely also from 1933 to 1949.

On May 29, 1941, the property was released for auction at the district court in Charlottenburg. The former owner of the pharmacy, Elisa Hirschfeldt, née Salomon, was given as the previous owner.

## References

1. ↑ Jewish Adress Book for Greater Berlin issue 1929/1930
2. ↑ Central register for murder cases and collection of teaching aids of the Berlin State Archive
3. ↑ Testimony Sara Berkowitz, police file manslaughter in Berlin, Alte Schönhauser Straße 19, on April 10, 1937 in: Landesarchiv Berlin, signature: A Pr.Br.Rep. 030-03;680
Heinz Hilpert

>  *"It is still easier to turn a great artist into a decent Nazi over time than it is to turn a small nazi into a great artist." - Hermann Göring on Heinz Hilpert*
>
>

**Heinz Hilpert** (born March 1, 1890 in Berlin; † November 25, 1967 in Göttingen) was a human being who worked at the theater and was boss at the Volksbühne from 1932 to 1932.

## Life and work

#### before ∇

He was appointed by Max Reinhardt as senior director at DT in 1926. There he staged world premieres of such *insignificant* plays as *Der Hauptmann von Köpenick* by his buddy Carl Zuckmayer or *Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald* by Ödön von Horváth, who was killed by a branch a few years later, with which Hilpert did nothing had to do.

#### ∇

He began working as an actor at the Volksbühne as early as 1919.

From July 1, 1932, he managed the house and then repeatedly positioned himself *rather to the left,* even if that wasn't exactly easy from January 1933 onwards.   In March 1933 he announced that he would also stage Horváth here (probably the world premiere of "Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung" - a similarly *insignificant* play). Since the author made a big mess of himself with the later *Dramaturge of the Reich* and Horst Rainer Schlösser (he wanted to decide for himself who to cast), it is not surprising that this never happened.  However, Joseph Goebbels was an absolute *Hilpert fan* and was committed to ensuring that he didn't have to fall deep, or actually didn't have to fall at all.

#### after ∇

After his brief interlude as boss at the Volksbühne, he returned to DT, where he succeeded Max Reinhardt, who had fled, from 1934 until the Berlin theaters closed on September 1, 1944, and where he was also director after joining Austria in the Josefstadt. When the front was in his own homeland, he had to work in factories. Even if things didn't go back to the way he had before, the good Heinz was soon *big in the business* again and was, among other things, the boss at the DT franchise, this time in Göttingen. Since that was so honorable, they put a stature of him on another DT. He is also remembered fondly as a *humanist.*

From July 26, 1944 to June 16, 1945 he wrote a diary about his secret relationship with Annelise "Nuschka" Heuser, whom he married in 1947 after she fled to Switzerland.

## References

1. ↑ Kiehn, Ute. Theater im "Dritten Reich": Volksbühne Berlin. Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, Berlin, 2001.
2. ↑ Ödon von Horváth: Glaube Liebe Hoffnung. Ein kleiner Totentanz. Wiener Ausgabe / Vejvar, Martin (Hrsg.), Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015.
3. ↑  https://www.zeit.de/1960/09/mit-zigarre-und-rotwein-aber-ohne-regiebuch
4. ↑ https://georgkasch.de/2020/11/06/kommentar-startuß-fuer-eine-neue-aera/
5. ↑ https://lustauflesen.de/hilpert\_tagebuch-fuer-nuschka/
Pavillon

**The Pavillon** is a 35 square meter glass cube on the Platz and Weydingerstraße. It is located directly in front of the Spielplatz and not far from the Telefonzelle. An entrance door is located in the middle of the front. To the front and to the right, it is completely visible through glass walls and a third can be seen on the left. To the rear there is another door at the right end, which leads into a space. On the floor there are about 30 cm high radiators on the three front sides.

Originally it was used as an information kiosk.  In 2002, *Aggregat* (the congenial name was indeed the program and that meant exactly that you could do anything you wanted without thinking up explanations for it).  In 2007, the *Institut am Glaspavillon* discovered here that research and academics in general are best at making sexy websites when they are very sparse and you can still be hip despite many technical terms.  In the 2010s, under the motto *BOOKS* it operated with just such consumption by the publishers Alexander, Belleville, Berenberg, Galiani, Matthes & Seitz, Metrolit, Neofelis and Criminals - these criminals! It was open daily from 12 noon to 6 p.m. - until 8 p.m,. Tickets, T-shirts, audio and video media, as well as book premieres, readings, debates and other literary events.  In December 2014, Peter Wawerzinek was locked in the Pavillon, it was the only way his wife could ever get rid of him. The daily detention ended at 4 p.m., then she picked him up again.  In 2018 the Pavillon was an Exhibition location at the 10th Berlin Biennale.

Before it was officially declared the LVX venue of the Volksbühne during the reign of Chris Dercon, ~~because he thought the theater was a museum~~, it was also used as a theater box office and bookstore, but actually for a very long time, or at least when Mitte became synonymous with gallery, it was mostly actually that.

Over the years the pavilion has been curated by:

* 1999-2001: Gallery RAMPE 003
* 2002: aggregate
* 2003-2007: Galerie Meerrettich
* 2007: Institute at the Glass Pavilion
* 2010: BOOKs
* 2017-2021: Elodie Evers

## Links

Official Website at the Homepage of Volksbühne

## References

1. ↑ https://taz.de/Bitte-nicht-der-naechste-Platz-to-be/!3198675/
2. ↑ https://taz.de/Die-Vitrine-vom-Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz/!1112013
3. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080831105450/http://glasspavilion.homepage.t-online.de/institut/institut%20about.html
4. ↑ https://volksbuehne.adk.de/konsum/books/index.html
5. ↑ https://www.bz-berlin.de/kultur/autor-wartet-im-glaskasten-auf-inspiration
6. ↑ https://www.berlinbiennale.de/de/orte/1391/volksbhne-pavillon
Heinrich Neft

**Heinrich Neft** (\* July 17, 1868 in Worms, † 1944 in Vienna) was a human being and for a year (from 1928-1929) boss at the Volksbühne.

## Life and work

#### before ∇

From 1902 onwards he was cashier in the association of the *Neue Freie Volksbühne* from 1902, later its managing director.

#### ∇

He was in charge for the financial organisation of the Construction of the Volksbühne. By the time construction began in 1913 at the latest, he likewise spent most of his time at the Platz. Since 1919 he repeatedly received the title of  *Volksbühnen-Boss of the Summer* , which meant that he was the fool who had to hold the position while everyone else was on vacation. Similar to Karl Holàn and Klaus Dörr, Neft had absolutely no artistic ambitions but was only there to take care of the money issues. At least during the time when he was not the boss himself, he managed to do that quite well, *according to the circumstances*. When Fritz Holl quit his reign rematurely, he was crowned the boss for good, of course amid wild protests from critics. In and of itself, his successor Karl Heinz Martin was secretly already in charge of the entire business, only to officially became boss one season later.

In 1914 Neft was registered at Kaiserstraße 40 in Friedrichshagen.  In 1923 he married Else Bäck, who during his term of office also served as Actress worked at the Volksbühne. Shortly afterwards he moved in with her on Gleditschstrasse in Schöneberg.

#### after ∇

To the surprise of many, he left the Volksbühne e.V. in 1931. On March 1, 1933, he began leasing a bankrupt theater in Duisburg.  However, the project ended as early as 1934. From then on, he refereed to himself as *former* theater manager.

He lived with Else and her mother Luise Bäck in Berlin-Westend for the next few years. While he was able to get his wife out of custody twice, his mother-in-law was killed on February 17, 1944 at the age of 87 in Theresienstadt.

After his death, Else changed her whereabouts every day in Berlin and finally made it to Vienna. When the US Army arrived there, she organized a stage program and later emigrated to the USA, where she died in 1968.

## References

1. ↑ https://digital.zlb.de/viewer/image/34295850\_1914\_1915/75/LOG\_0011/
2. ↑ https://www.berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/ueber-den- Bezirk/geschichte/stolpersteine/artikel.179848.php
Emil Lessing

**Emil Lessing** (born May 6, 1857 in Berlin; † November 1, 1921 there) was a human who did theater in various functions. He was also the first boss at the Volksbühne on the Platz from 1914 to 1915.

## ∇ - the 1st Emil on duty

The fact that he won the inaugural season of *Who's the boss here?* over Leopold Jessner did not sit well with the audience that was observing the Casting Show that chose the Boss of the Volksbühne.  The prophecies of doom were confirmed when the planned premiere of the *Götz von Berlichingen* had to be canceled last minute because of *technical difficulties*. Instead the opening of the just-finished Volksbühne was delayed for a day and done with the *masterpiece Wenn der Junge Wein blüht*. The critics quickly agreed: Lessing had to go.  In Anglo-Saxon it sounds a little less sharp. In any case, it was a first sympton of the "emilianization" of the Volksbühne movement, which had to be combated quickly. One reacted by quickly dismissing the boss and conjuring up a new hope with Max Reinhardt, which wasn't all that new but was far less Emil.  This model should later be used more frequently in the special seasons of *Who's the boss here?* whenever a chosen Boss was cut in his duties earlier than he was supposed to.

During his reign Emil Lessing lived at Mommsenstraße 6 in the middle-class Charlottenburg.

## References

1. ↑ Heilmann, Matthias. Leopold Jessner - Director of the Republic: The Way of a German-Jewish Director from East Prussia. Germany, De Gruyter, 2011.
2. ↑ Nickel, Gunther. The Schaubühne - the world stage: Siegfried Jacobsohn's weekly and its aesthetic program. Germany, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2013.
3. ↑  *With Emil Lessing as director the Volksbühne survived the first winter remarkably well, but at the end of the season the leadership felt that the risk of continuing its own theatrical business in wartime was too great.*  in: Davies, Cecil William. Theater for the People: The Story of the Volksbühne. United Kingdom, Manchester University Press, 1977.
4. ↑ https://berlingeschichte.de/bms/bmstxt00/0004proi.htm
5. ↑ https://digital.zlb.de/viewer/image/34115495\_1915/1835/LOG\_0117/
Miller

***Miller*** (sometimes *∇-correspondent*) is a human existing only in the ∇. In 2029 he reports for the *operation ∇* about the Effect of the same name from the *Republic of Blecher*. He tirelessly exposes himself to the magnetic vibrations in order to enlighten the neighborhood about the dangers that still exist in the area. He is particularly interested in metaphysical interpretations of history. His doctoral thesis was about the Schmidt-Curs, for which he also produced a series of the ∇ podcast in which he himself can be seen. He is also fascinated by research into the existence of Verena.

It is not known whether his chosen pseudonym is an allusion to Josef Müller.

## References

1. ↑ ∇ Podcast#2: Schmidt or the curse of the ancestors
Schmidt-Curse

The ***Schmidt-Curse*** is a theory that tries to connect several events on the adjacent area of the Platz to find an explanation beyond the rational logics of derivation. On the site of the former plot of land at Prenzlauer Strasse 3 (today the median of Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse), rented C.F. Schmidt his stables in 1820 under inhumane conditions. In 1922 Dorothea Schmidt was stabbed to death by an unknown person in the same place.

The theory of a curse was first formulated by representatives of a spiritual movement within the Operation ∇ in 2020 when Clemens Schmidt fell and his ankle at an event on Circumvention on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße sprained.

It is the topic on one episode of the ∇-Podcast:

## Links

* Is there a Schmidt curse?  *Attempt at a derivation for strange events* (in German)
Emil-Haus

The **Emil-Haus** is an appartment block which is located to all Linienstraße, Torstraße and Zolastraße. It bears its name thanks to the latter, among other things, because like Emil it doesn't hurt anyone and can line up without attracting positive or negative attention, neither earlier next to Poelzig-Block 2 nor today next to Suhrkamp publishing house. In addition, it is the only building on the now quite short street, if that is not an award enough, then it is that despite the whole system and name change, he always remained true to himself as Emil (after all, the then Koblankstraße was also after an Emil). Who can say that about themselves in such a location?

Another namesake was Emil Haase, to whom the parcel previously belonged and who was expropriated during the first season of Abriss des Scheunenviertels in 1908. Like almost everything in the area, this parcel lay fallow for a long time before it was finally built on in 1927.

In 2019 the Emil-Haus was nibbled at by the Suhrkamp publishing house through an uncanny encounter of the third kind. Since then, the two have been connected by a strange connection that is neither creative nor handsome, but simply there to establish a connection.

Over the years, among others, lived in the Emil-Haus

**Zolastraße 1 / 1a**

* 1930–1934: Hans Litten
* until 1935: Max Fürst and Margot Meisel

grey as in greyabsorbed by their neighbor on the rightentrances in Linienstraße

**References**

1. ↑  https://www.stolpersteine-berlin.de/de/biografie/416
Klaus Dörr

> *"It's going to be a hell of a ride." - Dörr about his appointment as Volksbühne boss*
>
>

*Klaus Dörr'* (\* 1961 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße) is a human who won the 19th season of *Who's the Boss?* in a fast track and took over the reigns of the dishonorably divorced Chris Dercon after Thomas Walter had stepped in for a short time.

From 2018 to 2021 he was the boss of Volksbühne. Before that he was managing director with Armin Petras as boss at the *Gorki* and the *Schauspiel Stuttgart*, among others, so like his predecessors Heinrich Neft, Karl Holàn and Fritz Rödel no artistic ambitions, he was all about money (whether that's positive or negative is an open question).

He stumbled over at least five letters (possibly more in some short message services) and had to resign early himself.
That the replacement itself was replaced was a first in the history of the Volksbühne show and a long-prophesied event.

## References

1. ↑ Interview with the Stuttgarter Nachrichten of April 13, 2018
2. ↑ Senate press release of March 27, 2018
3. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung from March 15, 2021
4. ↑ taz from March 15, 2021
Poelzig-Block 2

The **Poelzig-Block 2** was a part of the Poelzig-Bauten. It was destroyed by bombs in World War II. Their house numbers were on three streets: Linienstraße 36, Hankestraße 10 and Lothringer Straße 88. Today the Suhrkamp Verlagshaus is located at the same place today. On the ground floor at the entrance to Linienstraße there was a restaurant at the exact spot where the terrace of the REMI is currently ready for guests.
Granitstein

The ***Granitstein*** (german for *Granite Stone*) is an important symbol within ∇. It is in the shape of a triangle. It originally came from a house which was located on the corner of Kleine Alexanderstraße and linienstraße and was demolished in 1908 during the first season of the *demolition of the Scheunenviertel*.

#### History

According to legend, Hermann Blecher and Mojsche Zwirnbaum freed a bird-like creature that was buried under rubble in the demolished house. According to Mojsche, Hermann took a stone from the house as a souvenir and from then on always carried it with him. After the Murder of Hermann Blecher, the first package with corpse parts tied in sackcloth was found and weighed down by this granite stone after the Murderer to the Scheunenviertel. The stone was confiscated as evidence, but what happened to it afterwards is not known.

SiddihDS states that the same granite stone was placed in the small front yard of their house and thus drew their attention to the fate of Hermann Blecher. Allegedly, this stone was once thrown through the pane of her bedroom.

At one point it was owned by Emil.Ian87.

#### Meaning in ∇

Like no other object, the granite stone symbolizes the dilemma of people in the *Before*: if it is supposed to be a building block to ensure a warm place to stay over the head, it is not useless as an individual part, but can be used by people inflict significant damage. In his role as a weight in Hermann Blecher's corpse package, there is another morbid aspect: if the murderer initially thought he was delaying the discovery of the corpse with the stone, this ultimately became an important clue to speed up the murder investigation. One of the most common tools that people from the depths of the earth supposedly help to cultivate the planet is actually directed against them.

## References

1. ↑ ∇-Podcast#1: Hermann Blecher oder Ein Knabenmord
2. ↑ ∇-Podcast#4: You
Film-Palast Schönhauser Tor

The **Film-Palast Schönhauser Tor** (from 1933 on  *Ton-Eck Lichtspiele)*  was a cinema at the Platz, which was named after the Underground Station was named. It was destroyed in World War II. After the area on the former Hankestraße 1 lay fallow for decades, the L40 was later built on the same spot.

Rudolf Lorenz, who already managed several cinemas in the city, converted the building designed as a department store into a cinema in 1927. The cinema had around 600 seats and the facade was made of red sandstone. The opening in 1927 took place with the film  *Der Kindesretter*.

## Links

technical data on cinema over the years
The Berlin Toneck at Alles Kino
Poelzig-Block 13

10178 Berlin

The **Poelzig-Block 13** is part of the Poelzig-Bauten. It was completed as the last piece of the building ensemble in 1936 (the year of death of their Architect).

They are the only part of the ensemble that was not commissioned by the Alfred Schrobsdorff KG, which earned them the secret nickname *Nazi-Brat*. However, it is the only part on the left of the Platz that actually survived the Second World War. So much for people not reducing you to where you come from.

## History

In 1919 the fallow land was used for a circus.  Immediately before the construction, there was a parking space for wagons and automobiles.

In 1927 the 473 square meter property with the address Hankestraße 5 and Hirtenstraße 8 was bought by the city of Berlin.

## Links

* The Poelzig block 13 at the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin

## Refrences

1. ↑ stock photo-german-revolution-19181919-barricades-are-shown-in front-ot-der-volksbuhne-am-bulowplatz-today-rosa-luxemburg-place-in-berlin-germany-during-the-street-fighting-at the beginning- januar-1919-foto-berliner-verlagarchiv-57703296 Photograph of barricades on Bülowplatz (beginning of January 1919)
2. ↑ Templates for the city council meeting of the City of Berlin edition 1927
Weydingerstraße

**Weydingerstraße** is a street, which forms the right cathetus of the Platz. It connects the Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße with the Torstraße. Before the demolition of the Scheunenviertel it ran parallel to Kleine Alexanderstraße until 1907. On most of the course from the original street, the Volksbühne was later built on.

The following buildings are located on it:

* No. 1-12: Poelzig-Block 14
* No. 14-16: Main entrance of the Karl-Liebknecht-Haus
	+ Der kleine Buchladen
* No. 18: Poelzig-Block 11
* No. 20-22: Poelzig-Block 6

It is also bordering to:

* Spielplatz
* Pavillon
* Telefonzelle

It was named after the merchant Johann Heinrich Weydinger (1773-1837). In 1938 it was named after Horst Wessel, just like the square and the house of the KPD. In 1945 it was renamed.
Poelzig-Block 6

The **Poelzig-Block 6** is part of the Poelzig-Bauten. It was built in 1928 and 1929 after the plans by Hans Poelzig. Arnold Kuthe's construction business was responsible for the construction. The client was Alfred Schrobsdorff KG.

The property was the reason why the district border from Prenzlauer Berg was moved a few meters forward on June 19, 1929, as otherwise it would have been in two districts.

In 1931 Dr. Rudolf Wiehler lived here.

From 1967 to 1991 the piano transport company Neubert was based here, which later moved to the *Grauer Frachter*.

Today it houses the Bar 3 and the Merlin Apotheke.

left shortly after it was finished2021

## Links

* The Poelzig block 6 at the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin

## References

1. ↑ Berlin address book (Public Domain) edition 1931 (Public Domain)
2. ↑ https://www.klaviertransporte-berlin.com/Uber\_uns
∇-Effect

The ***∇ effect*** (pronounced: *nabla effect*) describes the polarizing effect that emanates from the Platz.

The magnetic currents of the earth's magnetic field affect all life on earth. Studies have shown, however, that the man-made design of the earth's surface also interferes with the earth's magnetic field. Normally, this effect is minimal and is therefore neglected in research. However, this does not apply to the Platz. Research has not yet been able to conclusively describe how the magnetic bodies influence each other there. In the case of the Platz, not only its triangular shape, but also the Volksbühne building in particular, interferes with the earth's magnetic field in such a way that the magnetic force is significantly stronger than in other places on earth. So-called magnetic turbulence occurs, which even people can feel when there is no wind. Whoever stays here will feel the impact of this effect on their body and mind. It seems as if those who spend a lot of time in this place - because they work here or because they live here - are particularly affected.

It is explained in detail in an episode of the ∇-Podcast:
Poelzig-Bauten

The **Poelzig-Bauten** are an ensemble of buildings made up of seven residential complexes around the Platz. They were built between 1927 and 1936 in two phases based on plans by Hans Poelzig. Today, after the destruction of the last war, there is still a closed quarter between Hirtenstraße, Kleine Alexanderstraße and Weydingerstraße with the cinema Babylon, Rosa- Luxemburg-Straße 30 and the adjoining residential complex Kleine Alexanderstraße 1-4 as well as the two corner buildings Weydingerstraße 18 and Weydingerstraße 20/22.

The development on the edge was a long-awaited project which, for various reasons, dragged on for almost two decades. After the area was upgraded more badly than right by the Volksbühne (to be honest, the newly created wasteland was not very noticeable at the edges), a competition was called in the mid-1920s, in which Emil Schaudt was initially chosen as the winner. Due to financial discrepancies, however, things turned out differently and Hans Poelzig had his Miss Universe moment and was subsequently chosen as the winner. At last things were moving forward: In the first phase (1927-1929), blocks 2, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 14 were realized with the client Alfred Schrobsdorff KG. Only Block 13 was built in 1936 by the client Wohnungsfürsorgegesellschaft Berlin m.b.H. finished later. Blocks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 were not implemented.
L40

>   *"This is not a building, this is a declaration of war"*
>
>

The **L40** or *Black Maze Building* (black labyrinth) is a black living space - and commercial building on the corner of Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße / Linienstraße on the Platz. The name is the short description of the street name with the assigned house number. It was designed for a 2,884 square meter triangular property by the Berlin architects Roger Bundschuh and Philipp Baumhauer in collaboration with the artist Cosima von Bonin from July 2008 until January 2010 as an anthracite-black, pointed cube "Monolithic-sculptural" completed.

The facade consists of black exposed concrete, and the house is also characterized by deep cutouts that protrude up to 20 meters into the building. The architectural style is described as "minimalist-monochromatic". From the outside there are hardly any windows to be seen on the black maze, because most apartments get daylight through skylights.

Inside there are nine condominiums, spread over seven floors, with a size between 60 and over 300 square meters. Some of the rooms are almost seven meters high. In addition, the L40 offers space for three businesses on the ground floor. “Dark and serious, but also full of lightness and confidence. A contribution to classical modernism, inviting and repellent at the same time ”, so Roger Bundschuh and Cosima von Bonin about their design.

## References

1. ↑ Sebastian Leben im Tagesspiegel
2. ↑ https://www.baunetz.de/meldungen/Meldungen-Sammlerwohnungen\_von\_Bundschuh\_Baumhauer\_fertig\_1072397.html
Dora Zimmermann

> „*I met a very, very nice man and married quickly. I had a real home there. That is how it goes. And you can look away and be quiet and not do any propaganda.“*“ Dora Zimmermann about her life after ∇.
>
>

 **Dora Zimmermann** (\* 1920 in Berlin née  *Dora Anlauf* ) was a human being who lived on the Platz as a child. Her father was the SchuPo Paul Anlauf, who was fatally wounded in the police murders of 1931.

### ∇

Dora Zimmermann and her older sister grew up with their parents at Hankestrasse 7 in what is now the building at Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 39/41. Her father ran the police station in the basement of the house. As a child, she was witnessing the clashes between communists and the police from her window. Her mother died on July 15, 1931 and a few weeks later, on August 9, 1931, her father was shot in front of the Babylon by Erich Mielke and Erich Ziemer. The night before, her father had warned her not to go to the window due to the uneasy atmosphere in the square. She did not hear about the shooting at the time of the incident.  Dora Zimmermann was 11 years old at the time.

### After ∇

After the death of both of her parents, Dora Zimmermann was able to stay with her older sister. She attended a convent school and then did an apprenticeship as an accountant. In the GDR she was employed at the Humboldt University.

From 1992 Dora Zimmermann appeared as a joint plaintiff in the trial against Erich Mielke for the murder of her father.

In 2005 she appeared as a contemporary witness in the documentary "Berlin Ecke Volksbühne".

## References

1. ↑ Interview in  *Berlin Ecke Volksbühne*  (documentary film D: Britta Wauer, 2005)