ABSTRACT
The Friedrichstadt Palace epitomises some of the fundamental contradictions within the 'first socialist state on German soil'. The building was one of the East German rulers' most conspicuous concessions to the vanities of Marxian superstructure and a well-received attempt to add a touch of colour to their notoriously grey capital city. The Friedrichstadt Palace thus became a prime example of East German Postmodernism, understood here as a populist 'Neo-historicism' that made abstracted reference to the past and 'the good old days'. The new Friedrichstadt Palace was therefore an important image-marketing tool. The mixture of state representation and popular entertainment earned the building the moniker 'Palace of the People' and marked an approach that ten years later would also be noticeable in the Friedrichstadt Palace. Thus a nagging feeling of inadequacy relating to what was at once a trivial and yet somehow significant aspect of modern life led the leaders to support such an unusual project as the Friedrichstadt Palace.
