1987 East Germany DDR Berlin Palais Unter Linden Opera Cafe Kronprinzenpalais

Title: 1987 East Germany DDR Berlin Palais Unter den Linden Opera Cafe Kronprinzenpalais Postcard

Description:

Front: A vivid colour photograph showing the reconstructed Palais Unter den Linden (formerly the Kronprinzenpalais, Crown Prince’s Palace) and the adjacent Operncafé (Opera Café, formerly the Prinzessinnenpalais or Princesses’ Palace) in East Berlin, capital of the German Democratic Republic. The two adjoining late-baroque/neoclassical palaces stretch across the entire composition along the south side of Unter den Linden. On the left, the Palais Unter den Linden presents its elegant two-storey pale cream stuccoed facade with a prominent central portico supported by four colossal Corinthian columns, topped with a balustraded attic crowned with classical sculptural figures and a small flagpole. To the right, the Operncafé building features a hipped red-tiled roof with dormer windows, a projecting central pavilion with classical pilasters, and a small entrance signed “Operncafé” visible at street level beneath an ornamental tree. Behind the Palais on the upper left, the angular white modernist facade of the Palasthotel (or Palast der Republik area development) rises above the historic rooflines, a stark contrast of socialist-era modern architecture against the rebuilt baroque facades. In the foreground, the wide cobblestone street of Unter den Linden is lined with a row of parked motor vehicles typical of the East German period including small saloons and hatchbacks in red, white, green, and dark colours, along with a white delivery van, all bearing DDR (East German) number plates. Modern East German street lamps with curved cantilever arms extend over the street. The sky is bright blue with scattered cloud. A leafy green tree in summer foliage stands at the right edge of the composition. Some surface wear and crease marks visible on the card.

Back: Divided back postcard, unused. Printed in orange/red ink at the upper left, an emblem features a stylized Berlin bear standing before the city skyline with the dates “1237 1987” and “BERLIN,” commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin. To the right of the emblem, the caption appears in four languages: German “Palais Unter den Linden und Operncafé,” Russian (Cyrillic) “Дворец Унтер ден Линден и кафе оперного театра,” English “The Palais Unter den Linden and the opera café,” and French “Le Palais Unter den Linden et le café de l’Opéra.” Below this, “Farbfoto: Kampmann, Berlin” credits the colour photographer. A vertical dividing line runs down the centre with dotted horizontal address lines on the right. Printed vertically along the centre in orange ink: “BILD UND HEIMAT • REICHENBACH (VOGTL) / A1/III/26/13 • 01 15 0654/01 • DDR 0,20 M.” Printed at the bottom centre is the publisher’s logo. A dashed rectangular stamp box in the upper right corner contains the printed code “301008/87.” Four small dotted rectangles appear along the lower right edge representing postcode boxes typical of DDR postal stationery.

Era and Historical Significance: This postcard is precisely dated 1987 by the printed catalogue number “301008/87” and the prominent “1237-1987” Berlin 750th anniversary emblem, placing it firmly in the final years of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) under Erich Honecker’s communist regime, just two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. The card was published by VEB Bild und Heimat in Reichenbach im Vogtland, the state-owned East German postcard publisher, with the price marked as 0,20 Mark of the DDR. The buildings shown have an extraordinarily complex history that mirrors the turbulent course of German history. The left building, originally the Kronprinzenpalais (Crown Prince’s Palace), was first built in 1663 and remodelled in 1732-1733 by architect Philipp Gerlach for the future King Friedrich II “the Great” of Prussia, then enlarged by Heinrich Strack in 1856-1857 into a Hohenzollern royal residence. It served as the Berlin residence of Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie until the Hohenzollern abdication of 9 November 1918. During the Weimar Republic it housed the celebrated modern art branch of the Nationalgalerie, displaying masterpieces by German Expressionists. In 1937 the Nazis purged the museum’s collections as part of the “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art) campaign, selling or destroying works by Kirchner, Nolde, Beckmann, and others. The palace was destroyed by Allied bombing and the Battle of Berlin in 1945. The ruined shell was demolished by the East German government in 1961. However, in a remarkable act of historical reconstruction, the DDR rebuilt the palace exterior between 1968 and 1970 using surviving original plans, restoring it as a state guesthouse renamed “Palais Unter den Linden” for state functions. Adjacent to it stands the Operncafé housed in the former Prinzessinnenpalais (Princesses’ Palace), originally built in 1733 and remodelled in 1810-1811 by Heinrich Gentz as the Berlin residence of the Prussian Princesses, similarly destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt by the DDR in 1962-1964 to house the famous Opernpalais restaurant and café complex, which became one of East Berlin’s most prestigious dining establishments serving the cultural elite who attended performances at the adjacent Deutsche Staatsoper. The modernist white tower visible behind the palace is part of the late socialist-era Friedrichstrasse area development. The historical significance of the Palais Unter den Linden was made manifest just three years after this postcard was published when, on 31 August 1990, the historic Einigungsvertrag (Unification Treaty) reuniting East and West Germany was signed inside this very building, making it the literal site where German division ended. Both buildings still stand today on Unter den Linden, fully restored and serving cultural and exhibition functions, making them remarkable witnesses to imperial Hohenzollern Berlin, Weimar modernism, Nazi cultural barbarism, wartime destruction, GDR reconstruction, and German reunification.