Public Messages In Berlin

On my last visit to Berlin I noticed how many messages can be read in public. Walls, fences, advertising surfaces and sometimes daily objects as cars are full of messages sprayed, painted or written. People seem to have a lot to say. The messages are urgent, desperate, funny and pointless, depending on who and why they acted. Also, there are numerous omnipresent memorials reminding us of the dark past, or celebrating the fortunate turns Berlin took in recent decades.

The two cities where I´ve lived in the past years, Chicago and Vienna, don't really have this phenomenon. For example graffitis and tags mostly appear in neglected neighborhoods, scrapped buildings or Halls of Fame, specially designated walls and areas where it's legal to spray and tag. This difference becomes evident when coming back to Berlin every once in a while.

These are not from a collection of photos I took over time. I took these pictures within a week, and they´re just an excerpt. It gives you an idea of how serious Berliners are with their need to talk and express themselves.

An old van that used to be in service for a disaster control unit. Katastrophenschutz = Catastrophe Protection.

Erasing all but a single word means that the new owner of the vehicle has a sense of humor and/or realism,

bringing to mind the state of the world we live in. 

"The European Union kills more people than Covid 19" -  "Why?"

A bizarre statement of conspiracy theorists, or a hint at the

ongoing refugee tragedy in the Mediterranean?

This is a detail from a pillow shaped memorial for those murdered during Nazi Euthanasia crimes in and around the Berlin-Buch Hospital Complex. Simple, yet dramatic. There are many official and unofficial, serious and not so serious memorials in Berlin dedicated to many aspects of the city´s difficult, but sometimes also culturally loaded history.

Anti-capitalism still seems to be a strong idea in a city that had it all in its relatively

short history: Carnivore Capitalism, attempts at Communist Revolution,

the phasing of public institutions during the Nazi reign and brutal Socialism.

Dumbo, weirdo, nerd, lightheaded person who doesn´t seem to take tasks seriously.

A person with downsides not serious enough to hate him/her.

In this case directed at the public.

A bar named "Vienna Blood", the famous phrase and song from one of Johann Strauss´ operettas.

Just a reference for me as a New-Viennese. Note the window reflection from the house vis-a-vis.

An actual official business sign on the wall next to the travel agency.

The advertising column. A public pillar for advertisement, news or messages.

Invented in Berlin by Ernst Litfaß. Todays message:

"Berliners, wear what you like, as long as it´s a (protective) mask"

A very Berlin-typical message and vision on how to create a specific public square that

includes a church. "We demand: 1. Free beer, 2. a slide from the church tower..."

A mural on one of the segments of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery. Many murals have been

vandalized/oversprayed by others, but this one is respected throughout the community for its

artistry and its demand to not forget the hardships dissidents have to endure in many countries.

"Freedom for Öcalan" - a Kurdish slogan directed at the German and Turkish

Governments to get some movement into the stalled Kurdish liberation process.

"Stop the siege of Talaingod" - there seems to be a communist agenda concerning the newly created Municipality of Talaingod in the Philippines. Talaingod is altered into Stalingrad, ridiculing a conflict hardly anyone heard about somewhere in Asia, and more importantly making fun of the major trauma of the German Army in WWII. Demystifying German "suffering and sacrifice" is ever more important work in times of rising nazism.

A local tagger left his mark.