Abstract
This paper examines the architecture of Dresden in the era of East/West reunification. Traditional theories of German national development have identified three foci for post-World War II development, the Geopolitics of Nostalgia that seeks to return German national identity to an era prior to World War II, Zero Point thinking that seeks to build a new Germany from the ashes of World War II and critical preservation has sought to preserve some Nazi landscapes in an effort to facilitate discussion on the controversial era. Being an East German city, however, Dresden was isolated from the development of West German identity This paper examines the ways in which East German (GDR) memory has been dealt with in the landscape. Buildings and themes of the GDR have been disavowed, modified, or removed from the center of the city. The new Dresden is a city that has minimal clues to either its Nazi or East German past. It is being presented as a city with one eye on its proud, pre-Nazi and Soviet, history and one eye on its future potential. This demonstrates the diffusion of West German models of nationalism into the East after unification.
Recommended Citation
Wolfel, Richard
(2012)
"What is Old is New Again: The Reintegration of Dresden’s Landscape into the Modern German State,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 53:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol53/iss2/3