"In 1979, the Wall was no excitement for most West Berliners. The still unbelievable reality of this inner-city border had become part of the living environment, as self-evident as the Kurfürstendamm or the Philharmonic Wall and border systems, but above all the development of the urban space in the vicinity of the border - calm, large format and with the typical precise view for connections and details.
Today, the wall is a thing of the past, the topic only on the occasion of memorial days - it has disappeared from the cityscape as well as from consciousness. In this completely changed context, the revision of Hans W. MENDE's unique border archive becomes the most exciting historical view imaginable.
The book is preceded by an essay by Ulrike Schuster, who speaks of West Berlin as the third draft of Germany - as far away from the Federal Republic as from the GDR. A design that was only conceivable in the island location of West Berlin and that disappeared together with the wall forever.
The book is preceded by an essay by Ulrike Schuster, who speaks of West Berlin as the third draft of Germany - as far away from the Federal Republic as from the GDR. A design that was only conceivable in the island location of West Berlin and that disappeared together with the wall forever." (publisher's note, © Hannes WANDERER, Peperoni Books, 2010)