Pope's revenge

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Light cross on the tower ball of the Berlin TV tower

The Pope's revenge (also known as the Revenge of St. Mary's Church or Dibelius' Revenge ) is the phenomenon on the Berlin television tower , in which a spherical cross of light is created as a reflection on the tower ball through direct sunlight .

background

The term, which can be traced back to 1973 in a West Berlin city ​​guide to Berlin nicknames, was picked up by tourist guides and in the press after 1990 to describe the phenomenon and the atheistic basic attitude of the socialist government and the discrimination against church institutions of the former GDR regime. Dibelius' revenge was named after the bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg , Otto Dibelius .

On a purely spherical shape , the reflection of the sun would be point or circular. However, in order to reduce air turbulence and the resulting swaying of the television tower's sphere, it is covered with around 1000 stainless steel cladding projecting outwards in a pyramid shape. The pyramid surfaces lying vertically above and below as well as horizontally on both sides next to the main reflection also reflect the sunlight in the direction of the viewer so that the reflection takes on the shape of a cross .

Legends and facts

The cross of light as a Christian symbol threatened to undermine the stylization of the Berlin television tower, which had been built up over the years, into a socialist city and state symbol. In the western part of Germany in particular, mocking remarks and legends arose that the SED leadership was angry about this phenomenon and was even considering demolishing the building. There are no understandable references or evidence for such radical proposals. However, it is proven that an unofficial employee (IM) with the code name "John" was appointed to the VEB Ipro, who was responsible for the construction of the tower, to investigate the phenomenon and its possible elimination. On June 25, 1969, "IM John" reported to his liaison officer:

"BMK Coal / Energy - BT Industrieprojektierung Berlin - is currently creating the cleaning technology for the outer sphere of the sphere. After cleaning is done, the cross formation on the sphere will become far more effective. At the moment there is still a protective layer on the metal. The IM estimates that with the help of some experts on refraction, the cross formation could be eliminated. The corresponding practical measures could be carried out together with the cleaning of the sphere, so that a discussion with the population could be largely excluded. Since the project engineer does not have a corresponding order, no corresponding measures are initiated. "

The Ministry for State Security (MfS) apparently made no further efforts to remove the light cross after this report, which was probably also due to the fact that the ministry dealt with the television tower relatively late. From 1969, under Erich Mielke , the building was placed under the care of the main administration XX, which was responsible for monitoring the state apparatus, culture, church and underground. This operational working group was primarily set up to uncover and avert acts of technical sabotage in order to prevent an interruption in radio communications.

The party organ Neues Deutschland tried to counter the nickname “Sankt Walter” - as an allusion to the then Chairman of the State Council Walter Ulbricht - with the artificial nickname “Telespargel”, which, however, did not prevail.

Regardless of the facts, the then US President Ronald Reagan took up a variant of the rumor, also known in English-speaking countries as The Pope's Revenge, about the removal of the Cross of Light in his famous speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987:

“[…] They erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the Sun strikes that sphere - that sphere that towers over all Berlin - the light makes the sign of the cross. "

“[...] they erected a secular building: the television tower on Alexanderplatz . Practically from the beginning, the authorities worked to correct what they saw as the major weak point in the tower and to treat the glass ball with paint and chemicals of all kinds. And yet, when the sun falls today on that glass ball - the ball that towers over the whole of Berlin - then the light draws the sign of the cross. "

After the Stasi research was unsuccessful after a possible sabotage and the idea of ​​grinding the dome was rejected as too expensive, the debate about the cross on the television tower finally came to a standstill. The architect Hermann Henselmann , who designed the template for the Berlin TV tower, is said to have replied that it was not a question of a cross, but a " plus for socialism".

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Dieckmann: Paths through the middle: city experiences. 1995, p. 106
  2. ↑ Richard Deiss: Hibbdebach to Dribbdebach - 222 district names and clichés from Applebeach to Zigzaghausen. 2010, p. 114
  3. ↑ Bernhard Troll: Dufte, our Berlin: an illustrated Berlin city tour. Self-published, 1973. Quoted from: Ulrich Dibelius: The names of the Berlin television tower. Berlin 2007, online publication at the Center for Berlin Studies of the Central and State Library Berlin 2012.
  4. ↑ Susanne Kilimann, Rasso Knoller, Christian Nowak: Berlin: Sights, culture, scene, excursions, tips. Trescher Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3897942042 , p. 132
  5. ↑ For example from Ingrid Nowel: DuMont Art Travel Guide Berlin. DuMont Reiseverlag 2009, ISBN 978-3770155774 , p. 157
  6. ↑ "The Pope's Revenge" shimmered high above East Berlin. In: Berliner Zeitung , October 2, 2004, accessed on November 23, 2012
  7. ↑ Dibelius' revenge . Letter to the editor in the period of 13 March 2003, accessed on November 25, 2012
  8. ^ Müller: Symbol with a view. The East Berlin TV tower . P. 107.
  9. ↑ meeting report IM "John" on July 25, 1969. In: BStU , Stasi AIM 9270/71 A, 1 sheet 173rd
  10. ^ Müller: Symbol with a view. The East Berlin TV tower . P. 109.
  11. ^ Müller: Symbol with a view. The East Berlin TV tower . P. 110.
  12. ^ Ronald Reagan : Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin
  13. ^ Egon Krenz : Walter Ulbricht , Das Neue Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-360-02160-1 , p. 348