BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s president on Thursday inaugurated the rebuilt tower of a church linked to the Nazi seizure of power and whose remains were demolished under Communist rule.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it offers an opportunity to reflect on the country’s complicated past as authoritarian and anti-democratic attitudes rise.
The Baroque tower of the Garrison Church, rebuilt with a viewing platform 57 meters (187 feet) above street level, towers over the center of Potsdam, just outside Berlin. Mayor Mike Schubert said it “offers a new view over the vastness of our city and also into the depths and abysses of our history.”
On 21 March 1933, the Garnisonkirche was the scene of the first opening of the parliament building after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor. This was a few weeks after the fire in the Reichstag building in Berlin, which was followed by the suspension of civil rights.
Outside the church, Hitler shook hands with President Paul von Hindenburg. The scene became a symbol of the alliance of the “new” and “old” Germany, between the Nazis and conservative traditionalists.
The church was originally built in the 1730s to serve the Prussian royal court and military. It burned down during a bombing raid shortly before the end of World War II in 1945, and the remains of the tower were blown up under the communist government of East Germany in 1968.
The ambitions to rebuild the church — and the opposition to the plans — date back to the 1990s. The partial reconstruction was eventually carried out by a foundation supported by the Protestant Church.
Critics see the church as a symbol of militarism and a place the far right could identify with. More than 100 people demonstrated opposite the tower on Thursday in a protest organized by a group opposed to its reconstruction.
The proponents want to counter the opposition with an exhibition that takes a critical look at the history of the site. The words “Guide our feet into the way of peace” are engraved in five languages on the base of the rebuilt tower.
The regional Protestant bishop, Christian Stäblein, promised at the inauguration ceremony to ensure that “the enemies of democracy and peace … have no place here.”
Steinmeier acknowledged that the road to rebuilding the tower “was long and complicated and, as we can hear outside, is still controversial.”
“This place challenges us,” he said. “It confronts us with its history and our history.”
Under the emperors, church ministers “put religion at the service of nationalist propaganda, glorifying war and unquestioning obedience,” Steinmeier said. After the end of World War I and the monarchy, “it still attracted antidemocratic forces.”
But he said the building’s heavy historical baggage, and the debate about it, offers opportunities today.
Concerns about the power of far right has increased in Germany in recent months. The far-right Alternative for Germany The party looks set to deliver strong performances in three state elections in the former communist east over the next month, including in Brandenburg, of which Potsdam is the capital.
“Contempt for democracy and its institutions, fascination with authoritarianism, and exaggerated nationalism are unfortunately not just yesterday’s issues — they are disturbingly current,” the president said. “The new Garrison Church can be a place where we develop an awareness of historical contexts … and critically question Prussian and German history. More than that, we can think about how to deal with history.”
The rebuilt tower stands next to a communist-era data processing center that now serves as an artist’s workshop. Steinmeier, who was the patron of the rebuilding project, said the center should be preserved. There are no plans to rebuild the church’s nave.
The reconstruction cost about 42 million euros ($46 million), most of which was paid for by the federal government, according to the foundation behind it. The tower will open to the public on Friday.
Potsdam is home to a number of historical sights, including Sanssouci Palace and its parkand Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam Conference of the Allies during the war was held in 1945.
