Places and Spaces: Berlin's Fernsethurm

The Berlin Fernsethurm, German for television tower is a marvel of engineering within the city. Standing at 1,207 ft, it is the tallest structure in Germany and the 3rd tallest in all of Europe. The tower was built between 1965 and 1969 as the German Democratic Republic or more commonly known as East Germany wanted a landmark which could be the icon of East Germany during the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War especially in Berlin where the city was divided between the democratic West and the communist East.

Something I thought of is that the tower represents the power over the people of East Berlin as it overlooks the city which then many tried to flee but were captured or killed in order to escape the horrors of communism. You can see the sphere on top of the tower, to me it remains me of an eyeball because it is round and when you connect the dots of East Germany's history and the tv tower, it's sort of interpreted as the tv tower being the mother of all watch towers in a symbolic way as it wasn't used for that purpose with being up high it sends the message of no one will escape.