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report no.: 197 Suggested target site: Bebelplatz (formerly Opernplatz or Franz Josef Platz), Berlin file under: marking and erasure; circulation and control; architectural hallucination; camouflage; simulation of tabula rasa; obliteration; death method(s) of erasure: immolation, partial burial, camouflage, replacement Chronology of Specific Events relating to the suggested
target site 1. Immolation has long been regarded as one of the most effective ways to erase and eradicate unwanted material. Incineration is carried out on an industrial scale as part of modern waste management efforts. It is recognized as a practical method of disposing of hazardous waste materials such as biological and medical waste. It can also be used to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills. 2. 10 May 1933: In a well publicized act of erasure, students from the Wilhelm Humboldt University (which borders on the suggested target site) collect thousands of books, journals and manuscripts from the university library and the Institut für Sexualwissenschaften and transport them to the suggested target site. (45032) Under the careful instruction of members of the SA (Sturmabteilung), a bonfire is lit on the suggested target site. (71182) The students then proceed to grab piles of books and manuscripts and throw them into the fire. Despite their unwavering dedication and commitment to the task at hand, students and SA members find the time to smile happily for the world's cameras. (69031) In what one source describes as an "egregiously primitive act", approximately 20,000 books are immolated at the suggested target site. (a) 3. 17 June 1953: Further acts of erasure of manuscripts and printed matter by way of incineration are performed during an inspired drive to improve the health of the political situation in the German Democratic Republic. Approximately 60,000 representatives of the working intelligentsia spontaneously assemble in the area surrounding and including the suggested target site. (e,f) They proceed to voice their enthusiasm for the continued construction of socialism and decide to express their opposition to fascist and reactionary elements with the incineration of a kiosk in front of the Soviet Embassy, located several hundred yards away at Unter den Linden.(d) However, the characteristics and precise number of objects incinerated on this occasion remain unclear and have not been established with reasonable certainty [one source claims the immolation of 'several wooden buildings' as well as SED agitation centers (c); another source describes the incineration of several police and government vehicles (d)]. The informant recommends further investigation. 4. 1993: An Israeli national is authorized by the municipal authorities to erect a memorial on the suggested target site. Low-level photographic reconnaissance shows a hermetically sealed underground chamber beneath a sheet of glass that has been set into the ground. Highly reflective glass was used in order to improve the memorial's camouflage. (1.,k) According to reliable sources, a tunnel section of an abandoned railway line located underneath the suggested target site has been used in the construction of the memorial. (5-7.,o) The underground chamber is equipped with a number of shelves and is believed to offer shelter for approximately 20,000 books. It is currently not occupied and has been described by sources as ausgeräumt ['cleared-out' or 'cleaned-out'] and leer ['empty']. (o) These observations have been corroborated by prior photographic reconnaissance. (1.) A small distance away from the underground chamber, a memorial plaque has been sunk into the ground and camouflaged by partial burial. (2.,23.) The informant has learned that the methods used in the memorial's construction -- such as horizontal placement of the payload, various digging activities, camouflage by partial burial -- are standard techniques that have been successfully applied in a wide variety of operating theatres for decades (3.,46.,l) 5. Re-evaluations of historic data and ground-level observations have revealed the existence of a previous memorial at the suggested target site, consisting of a simple commemorative plaque offering an inconclusive inscription and comparatively primitive camouflage (9.). Further investigations have established that the memorial erected by the Israeli national has effectively replaced the memorial seen in these historic ground-level observations. Several working theories have been established to clarify why this particular act of erasure has been repeated in the same location. Possible explanations include the following:
No firm conclusions have been drawn regarding this issue and the informant recommends further investigation. 6. 2003: a new wave of construction occurs at the suggested target site. The new memorial is laid out in the manner of an underground car park and is believed to provide shelter for approximately 462 motorized vehicles. No aerial surveillance has been made available since the structure is situated entirely below ground. Reliable sources indicate that the new memorial has been built around the previous memorial erected by the Israeli national. (l) Reports indicate that the ground beneath the suggested target site has been hollowed out completely and replaced with a system of caves and access tunnels. (p) The same sources also go to great lengths to point out that the new memorial has been conceived as an addition to (and therefore not as a replacement of) the memorial erected by the Israeli national. 7. The target site has changed designations and insignia on a number of occasions, each one authorizing the cancellation of its previous incarnation. (8.,11-16.) Most recently, the target site was renamed after August Ferdinand Bebel, a notorious socialist. The change appears on maps issued in 1986 depicting the suggested target site in 1945 (16.). A vertical display of the target site's insignia has been erected to authenticate this act of obliteration. (8.) According to reliable sources, a second memorial dedicated to the body in question has been erected in the form of a commemorative plaque, fixed vertically above a doorframe and camouflaged with wire mesh at a location several miles from the suggested target site. (4.,q) Several working theories have been established to clarify why this particular act of erasure has been repeated at different locations. Possible explanations include the following:
No firm conclusions have been drawn regarding this issue and the informant recommends further investigation. Conclusion Sources c. Cable from Czechoslovak Mission in Berlin to Vaclav David,
17 June 1953, received 1:45 p.m. CET d. Cable from Czechoslovak Mission in Berlin to Vaclav David,
17 June 1953, as of 2:00 p.m. CET e. USSR Council of Ministers Order “On Measures to Improve
the Health of the Political Situation in the GDR” f. New Documents on the East German Uprising of 1953; Introduction
and commentary by Christian Ostermann k. Origins and history of the "Bibliothek" memorial
source: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~sampras/buecher/mahnm.htm l. "Micha Ullman rarely creates sculptures above ground level,
he sinks his works into the ground. Earth and sand are among the
materials he uses." o. 'Berlin Bebelplatz: Der leere Platz'. Waltraud Schwab, tageszeitung,
10 May 2003 p. 'Bagger buddeln Bibliothek frei'. ROLA, tageszeitung, 21 April
2003 q. "1890 kam Bebel nach Berlin und wohnte in Schöneberg,
Großgörschenstraße 22a, Hauptstraße 84 und
zuletzt Hauptstraße 97 (1903 bis 1913 / Gedenktafel über
der Eingangstür). (Quellen: u.a. 'Sozialdemokraten in Schöneberg',
Broschüre des Kreisvorstandes der SPD-Schöneberg 1982,
zusammengestellt von Otto Edel)" Prior photographic reconnaissance 2. Commemorative Plaque at STS {camouflaged by partial burial}
3. U2 photograph of completed SA-2 surface-to-air missile site
at La Coloma, showing characteristic Star of David pattern. 4. Commemorative Plaque over the entrance to Hauptstr 97, Schöneberg,
bearing the following inscription: 5,6,7. maps showing the location of existing underground railway
line in the vicinity of the suggested target site. (briefing versions:
5a.,6a.,7a.) 8. Low-altitude photograph of insignia, displayed vertically and
attached to a totem in front of the suggested target site. 9. Ground-level reconnaissance showing commemorative plaque at
the suggested target site (now dismantled), bearing the following
inscription: 11,12,13,14,15,16. maps showing the erasure and concealment of
insignia at STS. (briefing versions: 11a.,12a.,13a.,14a.,15a.,16a.) 23. NPIC drawing of nuclear warhead bunker under construction. 46. November 9, 1962: Low-level photograph of 6 Frog (Luna) missile
transporters under a tree at a military camp near Remedios. 45032. Nazi students unload confiscated materials for the public
book burning that is to take place on the Opernplatz in Berlin.
The banner on the back of the truck reads: "German students
march against the un-German spirit." 69031. Students and SA members carry piles of 'un-German' literature
to throw into the bonfire on the Berlin Opernplatz. 71182. SA members and university students march in a torchlight
procession around the bonfire of 'un-German' books on the Opernplatz. informant report ends |
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