figure 4. Schönhauser Allee: 1970 and 2003
glass buildings, western commerce such as Starbucks, advertising, new automobiles and construction sites. The postcards chosen to generate these images are located throughout central Berlin with an emphasis on Alexanderplatz, a social- ist node in East Berlin, which was rebuilt after World War II ( fig. 1 ). This socialist-designed plaza was meant to stand in contrast to the classical node of the Museum Island with its cathedral, museums and Humboldt Univer- sity ( figs. 2 and 3 ). The desire of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to establish a
new modern city centre was partly due to the continued tension between East and West Berlin, which acted as a microcosm to the larger realm of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The tension between east and west Berlin still exists, but for different reasons. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought increased taxation to the west in order to rebuild the east. Simultaneously, easterners began to migrate to the west. This westward migration has resulted in abandoned factories, housing and increased unemployment throughout the east.
These images act as a double exposure converging two eras in one location, with the contrast of details that have either changed or remained static. Most recently, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the diffusion of western ideol- ogy and capitalism have changed the cityscape of the former East Berlin, while retaining buildings from both pre- and post-World War II eras. Renovations, demolitions and re-building reveal the disappearance of East German markers, including mass-produced concrete housing, empty lots, monuments of leaders, Trabant cars, beige and brown and political symbols. New appearances include
figure 3. Humboldt University: 1964 and 2004
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