Architecture Beyond Ideology: The Politics of Forgotten Landmarks in Communist East Germany

Abstract

Through research in former East German Leipzig, this article explores how and why architecturally and historically valuable landmarks seldom sustain or even gain ideological resonance. Applying theories about ideology as an “event,” it frames ideological resonance as something contingent and fleeting. Demolition and neglect often have less to do with ideology and more with lack of interest, which translates into lack of investment. Shifting interpretations of “beauty” also regularly determine what should get blasted or reconstructed. Even if individual landmarks lack ideological resonance, however, demolitions or decay can yield a cumulative effect prompting outcry against a perceived trend. Leipzig officials thus turned to save historical architecture, because they feared public displeasure that undercut their own legitimacy. That Leipzig sparked the 1989 Revolution in East Germany proves that the cumulative demolition and decay of buildings lacking ideological ascription could generate a profound ideological outcome.