Political Decisions and Revolutionary Change

Last week I attended two Goethe culture program events that continued my ruminations on political decision making and revolutionary change in Berlin. One of these events was a walk which focused on the events leading up to the fall of the wall in 1989. It was really interesting to hear first hand (our guide lived in East Berlin and was active in resistance groups) about the events leading up to reunification. Some thoughts:

• The DDR broke down as a country in a shockingly short amount of time. While popular opinion in favor of reunification had been building for some time, the whole process of massive demonstrations and the fall of the wall occurred over a few months. 
• Churches played a significant role as meeting places, information centers, and the locations of protests and demonstrations during the fall of '89. For example, this church:

the Gethsemanekirche, was open 24 hours a day beginning October 2, 1989 as a place to gather information about what was happening in Germany and the rest of the Eastern block, a place for opposition groups to meet, a place to pray for peace, and a place to demonstrate against the government. Today, the role of churches in the fall of the DDR is evident in the large number of informational markers (there are a series of metal columns throughout East Berlin with information about the events of 1989) in front of churches. 

While the role of religion and churches in the fall of the DDR isn't entirely surprising given the historical tendency of churches to be actively involved in political movements (the American civil rights movement immediately comes to mind), it was interesting to hear about the role of religion in this particular case. It also led to continued contemplation on the relationship between religion and government on my part (I took a class entitled Church and State in America last semester). While that particular relationship is endlessly complicated, there is certainly something special about religion as an institution which makes it a uniquely powerful source for revolutionary change. 

My other excursion was to the Bundeskanzleramts, the building where the head of the German parliament (currently Angela Merkel) works.   

Similar to the Reichstag, the building was designed in a very modern fashion with imagery intended to signify bringing together East and West and transparency. While the tour wasn't the most exciting (seeing the state gifts was  probably my favorite in part as it reminded me of West Wing episodes revolving around state gift mistakes). 

The building was built in 2001 and looks as such stylistically:

The top photo is of the main conference room and the lower is where the German version of the Cabinet meets. Fun Fact: The Finance Minister doesn't have a real chair-he uses a rolling chair.

The building is also full of modern art installations:

Due to the modern stylistic elements, I found myself again questioning as I did after visiting the Reichstag how the stylistic elements of governmental spaces effect the functioning of government.