Berlin’s KaDeWe is Europe’s second-largest department store. The upscale Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store of the West) is located in Berlin, Germany, and generally referred to by its abbreviation, KaDeWe. The store is located along the Tauentzienstrasse, a major shopping boulevard near the center of the former West Berlin.

When Berlin’s KaDeWe first opened its doors in 1907, it immediately set new standards for product variety and service. Shoppers could find almost everything in the 260,000 square foot store – ranging from everyday necessities to luxury items. Arrival of the KaDeWe changed the Tauentzienstrasse from a quiet residential street to one of the most famous boulevards in the city.

By 1930, Berlin’s KaDeWe was doing so much business that the store was enlarged. But three years later, during the National Socialist era, the predominantly Jewish owners of Berlin’s KaDeWe were forced to sell the store because Jewish ownership had become illegal. Ten years later, during World War II, a shot-down American bomber crashed into the store, and the KaDeWe almost burned to the ground. In 1950, Berliners celebrated the reopening of the first two floors, and in the mid 50s, construction of all seven floors was complete. By now, Berlin’s KaDeWe also featured a gourmet floor, which quickly became a mecca for lovers of epicurean delights. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 brought record-breaking numbers of shoppers and prompted the KaDeWe to add another floor. The sales area now expanded to over 645,000 square feet.

Main entrance of Berlin’s KaDeWe along the Tauentzienstrasse

Today, Berlin’s KaDeWe has eight floors, each one focused on a different type of merchandise. The ground floor holds beauty accessories, salons and spas. The 1st floor is dedicated to men’s apparel, the 2nd floor to women’s fashion. On the 3rd floor you find luxury shoes and leather goods. The 4th floor is dedicated to furniture and design items. The 5th floor contains arts, electronics, toys, and office supplies. And the 6th and 7th floors are entirely devoted to delicatessen and gourmet counters filling an area the size of two football fields. The top floor includes a winter garden with a 1000-seat restaurant.

Since 1907, the same morning ritual is followed. Shortly before 10 a.m. the original iron gate is lowered, allowing customers to embark on their exciting shopping adventure. Two thousand employees stand ready to fill each customer’s needs. When visiting Berlin, the KaDeWe is a must.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.