Buddhakopf

In September 1950, the East German government had the war-damaged Berlin Palace torn down. The site was then redeveloped as a Soviet-style parade ground complete with grandstand for large-scale demonstrations and military parades. The photo shows a procession during the third Weltjugendfestspiele, the world festival of young people and students held in August 1951. However, most of the time the square was deserted. Ideas of erecting a monumental government building on this central site were mooted from 1950 onwards. But only in the early 1970s did they culminate in concrete plans for the Palace of the Republic.