Summit House
| America House (former), Summit House | |
|---|---|
 Former Summit House on Theodor-Heuss-Platz , April 2018 |
|
| Data | |
| place | Berlin-Westend |
| architect | Heinrich Straumer |
| Client | Heinrich Mendelssohn |
| Architectural style | New Objectivity |
| Construction year | 1929-1930 |
| Coordinates | 52 ° 30 '31.9 " N , 13 ° 16' 13.8" E |
| particularities | |
| First TV station in Germany | |
The former Amerika Haus was from 1946 to 1991 as Summit House , a building of the British Forces in Berlin district Westend and housed the NAAFI - shopping center , administration areas and recreational facilities for soldiers and their families. The property is identical to the earlier Amerikahaus built in 1929 and was redesigned as a military building in 1991. It is a listed building monument.
Construction of the building (1929-1930)
As the America House, the building was erected between 1929 and 1930 on the property at the corner of Heerstraße and Pommernallee, directly on what was then Reichskanzlerplatz (now: Theodor-Heuss-Platz ), in what was then the district of Charlottenburg in the New Objectivity style. The plans come from the architect Heinrich Straumer , who previously designed the Deutschlandhaus , also located on Theodor-Heuss-Platz , and also designed the Berlin radio tower and radio hall . The aim of the builder Heinrich Mendelssohn in particular was to create a new center for the business world in Charlottenburg. The building was designed as a six-storey steel frame structure and had a tower with neon advertising . In 1930 it was finally handed over after completion.
America House (1930-1946)
With the America House, the concept of a new type of building was realized. On the one hand it served as a commercial building, but also housed numerous leisure facilities. In addition, a shopping center, several cafes , restaurants , club rooms and a cinema were integrated in the building, which alone offered space for 1275 guests. In addition, there were 60 bowling alleys in the basement area and a cabaret with 1200 seats on the ground floor . A restaurant for 800 guests as well as a usable roof area for sporting activities and sunbathing were also integrated in the building. The neon sign, which can be seen from afar, was removed in 1935 and finally reinstalled in 1951.
In 1938, the television station Paul Nipkow , which had already started operating in the Haus des Rundfunks in 1936 as the world's first regular television station, moved into the tower of the Amerikahaus. It was connected to the television studio in the neighboring Deutschlandhaus. The Amerikahaus was also affected during the Second World War and was finally badly damaged on November 23, 1943 by a fire caused by an Allied air raid . Since then, the television station has not been able to broadcast either. In addition, the effects of the war ensured that the building could hardly be used and that it lost its luster and significance.
The America House is not to be confused with the Berlin America House of the same name, which can only be distinguished in its spelling, in Charlottenburg Hardenbergstrasse , which served as the United States' cultural and information center.
Summit House (1946-1991)
After the liberation of Germany by the Allied occupying powers , the Amerikahaus was confiscated by the British armed forces and extensively repaired and rebuilt by the German architect Hans Schoszberger . The British stipulated that the tradition of the house as a mixture of cultural offerings and administrative wing was to be preserved.
On August 1, 1946, the building complex was finally reopened under the name Summit House . The ceremony was carried out in person by the Military Governor of the British Zone of Occupation in Germany, Sholto Douglas , in the presence of the British city commander Eric Nares .
It mainly housed the central shopping center of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute (NAAFI) for the British soldiers and their relatives and made it possible for them to buy highly taxable goods duty-free. In addition, the reopened building offered numerous opportunities for recreational activities and shops with everyday items. The Summit House also housed the NAAFI Club, numerous restaurants, a spacious bowling alley and the “Globe Cinema” or “Jerboa” cinema of the British Armed Forces in Berlin.
For the British film Wildgänse 2 , which appeared in 1985, the Summit House partially served as an outside backdrop . The film was about the fictional liberation of Rudolf Hess , who at that time was the last prisoner in the Spandau war crimes prison. Just two years later, in August 1987, his death had a real impact on the use of the building.
After the prison in Berlin-Wilhelmstadt was demolished, the Britannia Center Spandau was built in the same place , in which the previous leisure and administrative facilities as well as the central NAAFI shopping center were newly integrated. After the opening of the last section of the Britannia Center Spandau in 1991, the previous Summit House was finally devoloped as a military property and returned to the State of Berlin .
The building was protected by members of the 248 German Security Unit from 1978 until it was deedicated and was one of the three main guards and thus one of the unit's most important objects of protection .
→ See also: List of closed British military bases in Germany
Use since 1991
After the takeover by the State of Berlin, the building was initially empty and finally developed into a cultural attraction again in 2000 after the Berlin actor and director of the cabaret stage Die Wühlmäuse , Dieter Hallervorden , acquired the former Summit House and is there Ensemble integrated under the name Neues Berliner Kabarett-Theater . The theater is present in the building on two levels with a 516-seat hall .
The big cabaret festival has been held in the house every year since 2001 and the annual award ceremony for the German Cabaret League has been held since 2011 . In August 2016, a branch office of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees moved into the building's former administrative wing .
Web links
- Die Wühlmäuse - The Berlin cabaret theater. In: wuehlmaeuse.de. September 1, 2017, accessed April 2, 2018 .
- Summit House - NAAFI Club. In: berlin.de. Retrieved April 2, 2018 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
- ^ Summit House. In: BAOR Locations. Retrieved April 2, 2018 .