Germany’s President on Thursday (August 22, 2024) inaugurated the rebuilt tower of a church that became associated with the Nazis’ takeover of power and whose remains were demolished under communist rule. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it offers an opportunity to reflect on the country’s complicated past amid a surge in authoritarian and antidemocratic attitudes. The baroque tower of the Garrison Church, rebuilt with a viewing platform 57 meters (187 feet) above street level, rises over the centre of Potsdam, just outside Berlin. Mayor Mike Schubert said it “provides a new view over the expanse of our city and also into the depths and the abysses of our history.” On March 21, 1933, the Garrison Church, or Garnisonkirche, was the scene of the first opening of parliament after Adolf Hitler became chancellor — weeks after the fire at the Reichstag building in Berlin that was followed by the suspension of civil liberties. Outside the church, Hitler shook hands with President Paul von Hindenburg. The scene came to symbolise the alliance of the “new” and “old” Germany, between the Nazis and conservative traditionalists. The church was originally built in the 1730s to serve the Prussian royal court and the military. It burned out in bombing shortly before the end of Second World War in 1945, and the remains of the tower were blown up under East Germany’s communist government in 1968. The tower opens to the public starting from Friday.
