Berlin Library Woes

Lee Hadden writes “There is an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal (Dec.
9, 2003). “Berlin’s Bitter Land Dispute: New Library May Further Test
Family’s Fight for Prime Plots.”

A bitter battle over prime Berlin real estate taken from a
prominent Jewish family during the Holocaust may be coming to a head now
that the German government has given up its claims to the land. The easing
of tensions, however, will be tested this week by the opening of a new
governmental library built on one piece of the land.
The case involves about 15 acres in the heart of Berlin, now valued
at hundreds of millions of dollars, whose ownership came into question
after German unification in 1990.

Read more about it at: wsj.com (subscription required), or through many
other library services, such as ProQuest.“

December 10, 2003 by Uncategorized 1

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1 Response

  1. birdie says:
    December 10, 2003 at 11:07 pm

    Berlin library
    I was in Berlin this past April and stayed in the former Eastern sector. I certainly hope the library can be built there, because all it has at the moment are striking examples of Western capitalism: Hermes, Armani, Donna Karan, Chanel, etc. etc. Besides not being able to afford to shop at these places (or fit into their clothes), the former East Berlin kind of lacks character (except for the Brandenburg gate and Checkpoint Charlie). However I’d have to say that Berlin as a whole is a fascinating city, and that most German people are still trying to apologize for their predecessors horrific actions.

    Reply

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