German-Soviet Friendship Pavilion

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Stalin pavilion in Chemnitz

German-Soviet friendship pavilions were erected in several East German cities in the early 1950s as a symbol of friendly relations with the Soviet Union and to honor the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin , and they were used as exhibition buildings for propaganda purposes. The vernacular often referred to this as the Stalin pavilion , sometimes also as the Soviet pavilion .

History of origin

Karl Marx monument in front of the Stalin pavilion in Dresden on Unity Square , 1953

The best in lightweight built pavilion-like structures were built after the founding of the GDR during Stalin's rule until shortly after his death in 1953. The background was the required representation of the new balance of power and the politically desired friendship with the "model" Soviet Union . A Society for the Study of the Culture of the Soviet Union was founded as early as 1947 for this purpose, from which two years later the Society for German-Soviet Friendship emerged . The new political spirit should not be limited to friendship societies, but should also be reflected in the architecture. The priorities were initially in the reconstruction of the destroyed cities, whereby new public buildings were also assigned a propagandistic importance. In addition to major projects such as the construction of Stalinallee in Berlin , the pavilions of German-Soviet friendship were also part of this tradition.

After the Society for German-Soviet Friendship called for the “Build Soviet Pavilions!” Campaign, these were mainly created in Saxony. They usually wore a red star and an inscription to demonstrate the power of socialism . In Plauen, for example, the inscription “With Stalin is victory” was on the building, while the slogan “Learning from the Soviet Union means learning to win” was on the Dresden building. The pavilions were furnished with oversized Stalin and Lenin busts as well as with displays of Soviet books and propaganda material. When Stalin was later made taboo because of his crimes, the pavilions sank into insignificance, were rededicated or demolished.

Occupied locations

Stalin pavilions were in several East German cities, u. a. in Chemnitz , Dresden, Leipzig , Plauen, Wilkau-Haßlau and Zwickau .

Chemnitz : The pavilion at the beginning of Augustusburger Strasse at the corner of Dresdner Strasse was a “model image” of the Soviet pavilion and, according to contemporary statements, was created “in day and night work by volunteers from all walks of life” (report by the organ of the Society for German-Soviet Friendship , Friendship in Action ) in just 51 days. On the roof of the two-storey rotunda was a red star that was electrically illuminated at night. The building, erected in 1953, was initially used for changing exhibitions. It was later used as a career advice center. The demolition took place in connection with the expansion of the intersection in 1975.

Dresden : The Dresden Pavilion of the German-Soviet Friendship was located on Albertplatz (from 1946 Platz der Einheit) and was also known as the “Pavilion in honor of the glorious Soviet Army”. The square low-rise building with a portico in front had a stair-like roof, which was crowned by an elongated spire. An installed carillon played the melody of the carillon of the Moscow Kremlin every hour . The interior was used for various exhibitions. In April 1952 there was an exhibition for the month of German-Polish friendship. As part of the “Karl Marx Year” in 1953, a Karl Marx exhibition was held, at which the life and work of the founder of scientific socialism were presented with display boards, texts and original documents. The structure was probably demolished in the 1960s.

Leipzig : The Leipzig Stalin pavilion stood in the city center next to the old town hall . During the popular uprising on June 17, 1953 , the pavilion was set on fire and destroyed.

Plauen : On January 21, 1953, a pavilion of German-Soviet friendship was inaugurated on Albertplatz. The construction time was very short. The foundation stone was laid on November 28, 1952 and the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on Stalin's 74th birthday on December 21, 1952. Before that there was already a Stalin pavilion on Theaterplatz, which was built by an FDJ brigade and inaugurated in June 1951.

Wilkau-Haßlau : In Wilkau-Haßlau the construction of a Stalin pavilion was planned in 1954 as a closed building with a Soviet star on the roof, for which donations of 1,640 DM were collected from the population. Instead, an open music pavilion without a star was built at the intended location by 1959, which is very similar to the originally planned model. The construction of the pavilion was supported with a total of 283 unpaid hours of work within the framework of the National Construction Agency (NAW). It is a round building with a copper roof and a crowning golden ball on supports made of concrete and granite. It still exists, is a listed building and is to be renovated in 2019.

Zwickau : The Zwickau Stalin pavilion was built on November 29, 1952 on what was then Karl-Marx-Platz (today Schumannplatz) between Hauptstraße and Marienstraße. A Bismarck monument had stood at this point from 1898 to around 1943. The building was financed from monetary donations and the proceeds from waste paper and scrap collections and was inaugurated on May 8, 1953 as the “Pavilion of German-Soviet Friendship”. This pavilion was also initially used for exhibitions to strengthen German-Soviet friendship, which were mainly visited by brigades and school classes. It was a two-story rotunda with a tower and a red star on top. The building later fell into disrepair and was therefore demolished on November 4, 1985. The Fountain of Friendship has been located on the site of the former Stalin pavilion since 1986 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Künstlerwerkhof in Stalinstadt . In: New Germany . March 28, 1953, p. 4 ( nd-archiv.de - chargeable).
  2. ^ Jan C. Behrends: The invented friendship: Propaganda for the Soviet Union in Poland and in the GDR, pp. 254–263 . In: Contemporary History Studies . tape 32 . Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar 2006, ISBN 978-3-412-23005-0 .
  3. ^ Pavilion of German-Soviet Friendship, the so-called Stalin Pavilion in Plauen . Retrieved from  the German Digital Library on July 28, 2014
  4. ↑ Erich Höhne, Erich Pohl: Dresden, Albertplatz (Platz der Einheit), Pavilion of German-Soviet Friendship, so-called. Stalin Pavilion? Portraits of Wilhelm Pieck, memorial at Postplatz. In: Deutsche Fotothek. December 21, 1951. Retrieved October 29, 2016 .
  5. ↑ It's Peter's birthday . In: Der Spiegel . No. 14 , 1953 ( online ).
  6. ^ Architecture in Chemnitz. (No longer available online.) In: chemnitztour.de. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016 ; Retrieved October 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chemnitztour.de
  7. ↑ Robert Assmann, Ilja Kogan: On historical museum paths through the Reitbahnviertel, p. 9. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: reitbahnviertel.de. 2010, archived from the original on October 29, 2016 ; Retrieved October 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reitbahnviertel.de
  8. ↑ Annette and Jenni Dubbers: The Inner New Town. From the history of a Dresden district, p. 60 . Ed .: Umweltzentrum Dresden e. V. Dresden 2003, ISBN 3-937199-31-4 .
  9. ^ Dresden, Albertplatz (Platz der Einheit), Pavilion of German-Soviet Friendship, so-called. Stalin Pavilion,… April 1952  in the German Digital Library , accessed on July 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ Peter Lange, Sabine Ross (ed.): June 17, 1953, contemporary witnesses report: Protocol of an uprising, p. 255 . LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, ISBN 978-3-8258-7685-2 .
  11. ↑ Andreas Krone: Am Plauener Albertplatz: The Stalin Temple and its predecessor monuments (table of contents with illustration of the pavilion). (PDF) In: Historikus Vogtland - Historisches Geschichtsmagazin, 9th year, issue 1, Jan./Febr. 2014, p. January 25 , 2014, accessed October 29, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Erich Höhne, Erich Pohl: Plauen / Vogtland, Pavilion of German-Soviet Friendship, so-called. Stalin pavilion. Inauguration of the pavilion built by an FDJ brigade, which is recognized for its work. In: Deutsche Fotothek. June 1951. Retrieved October 29, 2016 .
  13. ↑ http://www.akpool.de/ansichtskarten/25460221-ansichtkarte-postkarte-wilkau-hasslau-in-sachsen-das-modell-des-stalin-pavillons
  14. ↑ Frank Dörfelt: Riddle about memorial pavilion for Stalin . In: Free Press . February 21, 2019, p. 11 ( Freiepresse.de ).
  15. ^ Frank Dörfelt: Landmark on Schumannplatz back in operation. In: Wochenspiegel Zwickau . June 25, 2014, p. 13 .
  16. ↑ Erich Höhne, Erich Pohl: Zwickau, rally at the pavilion of German-Soviet friendship, so-called. Stalin pavilion. In: Deutsche Fotothek. June 27, 1951. Retrieved October 29, 2016 .
  17. ^ Norbert Peschke: Zwickau then and now, episode 19: the Stalin pavilion on Karl-Marx-Platz . In: Free Press, Zwickauer Zeitung . November 16, 2017, p. 14 .