ABSTRACT
The chapter analyzes the renegotiation of belonging in the controversial debates surrounding the reconstruction and re-urbanization of the city centres in Berlin and Potsdam after 1989/1990. The chapter shows that a centrist discourse formed the dominant ideological backdrop to the reconstruction activities after the year 2000.
Examining the inherent political, social, and spatio-temporal dimensions of this ongoing “reconstruction” process, the chapter focuses, firstly, on the crucial role the notion of historical authenticity played in these debates. Secondly, it examines the interrelation between articulations of national, political, and social belonging and diverging historical narratives. Thirdly, it analyzes the spatial dimensions of the debates, critically investigating the European framing of the reconstruction discourse and analyzing the idea of the city centre that connects spatial with socio-political dimensions of belonging. Finally, the chapter shows that this spatio-political idea of the centre also has temporal implications, as preservation projects focused increasingly on the representation of multiple “layers of time”. This characteristic temporalization and “deep historicization” of contemporary urban memory landscapes created “pastness” and continuity, while, at the same time, visualizing the ruptures and the complexity of Germany’s recent history.
