Berlin Olympiastadion
Conner Otte
Zhi Bie
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74JyZu3EJxs
http://www.berlin-stadtfuehrung.de/Berlin_Germany.html
Olympic Stadium in Berlin was built for 1936 Summer Olympics Games in Reichssportfeld on behalf of Adolf Hitler. It was designed by Werner March. Construction took place from 1934 to 1936. When the Reichssportfeld was finished, it was 1.32 square kilometers. It consisted of (east to west): the Olympiastadion, the Maifeld (Mayfield) and the Waldbühne amphitheaterIt had to be an imposing structure to express the power of the Nazi regime. Designed to hold 100,000 spectators, this Olympic Stadium was famous for its enormous dimensions and authority. It also possessed a special stand for Hitler and his political associates. During the WW2, it became the symbol of the Nazi power.
1936 Olympics
On August 1, 1936, the 11th Summer Olympics were officially inaugurated by Hitler. Four million tickets were sold for all the events of the 1936 Summer Olympics. This was also the first Olympics with television transmission and radio transmissions in 28 languages. All kinds of Games were playing including soccer, swimming, equestrian events, field hockey and so on. What’s more, one of the most memorable events was the performance of the African-American track and field athlete Jesse Owens, representing the United States of America.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/3751514021/
1939 to 1945: World War II
During this fierce world war, the Olympiastadion only suffered the impact of gun shots and remained untouched after the World War II.
1945 to 1994
After the victory of Alliance, the Reichssportfeld was used as headquarters of the British military occupation forces.
The British forces settled in the northern buildings designed by the March brothers in the 1920s. Soon, the Occupation started a careful reconstruction of the general facilities. From then until 1994, British forces held an annual celebration of The Queen's Official Birthday in the Maifeld with thousands of spectators from Berlin present. During the 1960s, American military and high school football teams introduced hundreds of thousands of Berliners to American football at the stadium in exhibition games.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berlin_Olympiastadion_nach_Umbau.jpg
1994 to now
A lot of concerts were performed at the stadium including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, among others from 1994-2005. Furthermore, In 1998, Berliners debated the destiny of the Olympiastadion in light of the legacy it represented for Germany. Later, it was decided to renovate the Olympiastadion. FIFA then chose it as one of the venues of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The State of Berlin hired a consortium composed of WALTER BAU-AG and DYWIDAG to do the renovation.
On July 3, 2000, the renovation began. The project of the renovated stadium respected the original structure of the Thirties. The roof was extended to cover a total of 37,000 square metres, with 20 roof-supporting columns carrying a weight of 3,500 tonnes of steel. 70,000 cubic metres of concrete was used during this reconstruction.
After the renovation and conservation, the stadium took on a brand new look. It has the highest all-seated capacity in Germany at 74,228. The roof rises 68 metres over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. Furthermore, The Olympiastadion was also equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment.
In 2006, the World Cup was hosted by Germany. Millions of euros were spent to modernize the stadium for the FIFA gamesThe Olympiastadion was designated to play the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. And this has taken place exactly 70 years after the 1936 Summer Olympics. Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily, who attended the opening party, concluded: "The stadium recalls the dark elements present in its creation. But in 2006 the world will look upon to modern, democratic, and open Germany".
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was the monitoring tower used to control the area around the Berlin Wall that divided the city during the Cold War. It was demolished soon after the 1989 revolution. On display at the museum are the photos and related documents of successful escape attempts from East Germany, and also the escape apparatus: hot-air balloons, getaway cars, chairlifts, and a mini-U-Boat.
http://www.control.auc.dk/~dthi02/06-12-2002%20Germany/Berlin/Checkpoint%20Charlie%2002.jpg
“It began as an exhibition by the historian Rainer Hildebrandt on 19 October 1962, just outside the Berlin Wall, in an apartment with only two and a half rooms in Bernauer Straße. The street was divided along its whole length; the buildings in the east had been vacated and their windows were bricked up. The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie opened in its present location in 1963.
The museum is operated by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August ("13 August Consortium" – the date on which construction of the Berlin Wall began), and the director is Alexandra Hildebrandt, widow of Rainer.
It is one of the most frequently visited museums in Berlin, with 850,000 visitors in 2007. Through its presentation of the many ways in which people tried to escape East Germany, it aims to bring that period of history to life and ensure that it is not forgotten.
In 2008, the museum gave the total number of people killed up until 1989 on the Berlin Wall and the East-West German border as 1,303. However, one source claims that this total includes victims trying to escape via the Baltic Sea, Germans killed on the country's exterior borders, the deaths of East German soldiers and Soviet deserters, suicides of family members of the border troops, and people who successfully escaped from the East but were subsequently captured and killed by the Stasi or the KGB.”
Citation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Berlin)
http://www.berlin-sportmetropole.de/english/venues/olympiastadion+berlin/index.html
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/architecture/stadium_design/berlin_olympiastadion.shtml
http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2009/07/15/olympiastadion-%E2%80%93-berlin%E2%80%99s-olympic-stadium/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_Charlie_Museum
http://www.berlin.world-guides.com/monuments.html
http://www.control.auc.dk/~dthi02/06-12-2002%20Germany/Berlin/Checkpoint%20Charlie%2002.jpg
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