Der Reichstag: Geschichte eines deutschen Hauses is a docudrama which premiered in 2017. In 2024, it was shown on French and German television (arte).
Here is some basic information about this docudrama:
** Writer and director: Christoph Weinert
** Narrator: Hans Henrik Wöhler
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Run time: 80 minutes
Five persons are interviewed in this film:
** Hans-Werner Bepler (born 1926) – he was in charge of the Reichstag building from 1971 until 1990
** Ernst Bittcher (1928-2017) – he was a young German soldier at the end of the war in 1945
** Michael Cullen – a historian
** Norman Foster – an architect
** Wolfram Pyta – a historian
** Christo V. Javacheff (1935-2020) – an artist
Several historical moments are reconstructed by actors who portray the following historical persons:
** Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925) – a German politician, a social democrat
** Philipp Scheidemann (1865-1939) – a German politician, a social democrat
** Wilhelm II (1859-1941) – German emperor 1888-1918
** Augusta Victoria (1858-1921) – wife of Wilhelm II - German empress 1888-1918
** Paul Wallot (1841-1912) – he was the architect who designed the Reichstag
** Gaetano Negri (1865-1884) – he was an Italian worker who worked on the Reichstag building from 1884 until 1894 – he died in a work-related accident
** Ferdinand Hardekopf (1876-1954) – he was a stenographer in the Reichstag 1904-1916
** Ilse Dirksen (born 1891) – she was a librarian who worked in the library of the Reichstag
** Marie Juchacz (1879-1956) – she was a member of the social democratic party from 1908 – she was a social democratic member of parliament 1920-1933 – she was the first female member of parliament and the first women to address parliament
** Anna Rehme (1899-1980) – she was a member of the communist party – she was a secretary for the communist members of parliament until 1933
Archive footage is used between the talking heads.
Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements of the talking heads.
Archive footage is used when the narrator is speaking.
After a brief introduction, the film is divided into six chapters which cover the history of the Reichstag building from 1871 until the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Here are the headlines:
Chapter 1
The Beginning
(1871-1894)
Chapter 2
A House with Limited Power
(1894-1918)
Chapter 3
A Struggle for Democracy
(1918-1933)
Chapter 4
The Downfall
(1933-1945)
Chapter 5
Sleeping Beauty
(1945-1990)
Chapter 6
The Return
(1990-the present day)
In this film, the history of the Reichstag is covered in great detail. The history of this building is, in many ways, the history of Germany since 1871 until the present day.
I will only mention a few details here:
Regarding chapters 1 and 2
(1871-1918)
According to the inscription on the façade, this building is dedicated to the German people. In German this point is made with three words:
“Dem deutschen Volke”
The inscription was planned by the architect Paul Wallot when he designed the building around 1884. But the German emperor Wilhelm II did not like it.
According to him, this idea was far too democratic. This is why he blocked the plan to mount an inscription with these words.
In 1916, during World War I, when Germany was losing the war, the German emperor was becoming more and more unpopular.
He wondered what he could do to improve his image. He remembered the inscription which the architect had planned and which he (the emperor) had refused to accept. Now he changed his mind.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to mount the inscription. Perhaps he could improve his image if the inscription was placed on the façade.
The emperor wanted to show that he respected the German people. Perhaps he could improve his image if he had the inscription placed on the façade?
For more than 20 years, the emperor had blocked Paul Wallot’s plan to mount an inscription on the façade. Now he changed his mind. The inscription must come up!
The large bronze letters were made by a company which was founded in 1855. During World War I, it was owned by two brothers:
** Siegfried Loevy (1859-1936)
** Albert Loevy (1856-1925)
Once the decision had been made, everything happened very fast. In December 1916, the three German words were placed on the façade of the building.
But for the emperor, this change of heart came far too late. He wanted to show his respect for the German people, but it was too late.
Only two years later, in November 1918, German negotiators signed an armistice and the emperor was forced to abdicate. Wilhelm II went into exile in the Netherlands and Germany became a republic.
Regarding chapter 4
(1933-1945)
In February 1933, the Reichstag building was damaged by fire. The exterior of the building was restored before the war began in 1939.
During the war, the building was seriously damaged. But the controversial inscription, which had been placed on the façade in 1916, was almost 100 percent intact.
Regarding chapters 5 and 6
(1945-the present day)
In 1971, the artist known by his first name Christo had an idea. He wanted to wrap the Reichstag in white cloth.
In 1976, he came to Berlin in order to find out if it was possible to implement the plan, he had presented five years before.
At that time, he did not find much support for his plan. He had to let it go for a while. But he could not forget it. During the following years, he tried to win support for his plan, but for many years he was unable to find much support.
In November 1989, the Berlin Wall stopped working. In October 1990, the two German states were united.
When this happened, Christo hoped the German politicians would be ready to accept his idea. He was right. The timing was much better after the unification of the two German states.
In 1994, the members of the German parliament voted to support his plan. In 1995, it happened. The large building was wrapped in white cloth for two weeks.
For more than 20 years, Christo had dreamed of this moment. In 1995, his dream became a reality.
Regarding chapter 6
(1990-the present day)
After unification of the two German states, the Reichstag had to be refurbished. Several architects presented a plan for a new version of the old building.
A important detail was the dome. What about the dome? The original building which was completed in 1894 had a dome with four sides.
Should the new version have a dome or not? If the answer was yes, how was this dome supposed to look?
Should the new dome be a true copy of the original dome or should it have a new look?
In the end, a plan by the British architect Norman Foster was chosen as the winning project.
His plan called for a circular dome with two internal spirals. The first for visitors going up and the second for visitors going down.
The new circular dome is placed over the plenary hall. This is symbolic. The people can enter the dome and look down on the politicians and the government. This is to show that the politicians and the government must serve the people.
This idea dates back to the original architect Paul Wallot. When emperor Wilhelm II saw the plan which placed the dome above the plenary hall, he was very upset.
He did not like this idea.
It was too democratic. He said the dome had to be placed above the entrance hall (the vestibule).
But the architect stood firm. He refused to give in to the emperor on this point. The dome was placed above the plenary hall.
Norman Foster’s dome is regarded as a good conclusion of the work to give the old building a new look.
It is still the old building which was constructed during the German Empire 1871-1918, but the new dome shows that democracy was stronger than the old empire and stronger than Hitler and his Third Reich.
What do reviewers say about this docudrama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 65 percent.
In my opinion, this rating is too low.
The history of the Reichstag is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Film and video
Als der Reichstag brannte
Run time = 90 minutes
(2023)
# 2. Books in English
Rebuilding the Reichstag
By Norman Foster
(2000)
The Reichstag: German Parliament Between Monarchy and Federalism
By Michael Cullen
(2005)
Burning the Reichstag: An Investigation into the Third Reich’s Enduring Mystery
By Benjamin Carter Hett
(2014)
# 3. A book in German
Dem deutschen Volke
Edited by Helmuth F. Braun & Michael Dorrmann
(2003)
*****
The Reichstag building
with the new circular dome
designed by the British architect
Norman Foster
*****
The Reichstag
wrapped in white cloth
by the artist Christo
for two weeks in 1995
*****
The controversial inscription
that was finally placed on
the facade in December 1916.
This building is dedicated
to the German people:
"Dem deutschen Volke"
*****
On this blog
My review of
Als der Reichstag brannte
(2023)
*****
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