Hedda Adlon Archives - Walled In Berlin

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Hotel Adlon Part 2

Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

To read about the history of Berlin’s Hotel Adlon from the time of the German Empire through World War II, visit http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/hotel-adlon-part-1/. Today’s post will bring the reader to the present-day.

Hotel Adlon during the Cold War

In the division of Berlin, the surviving wing of the Hotel Adlon ended up on the east side of the city. In 1952, the East German government demolished the damaged parts of the building along with all the other structures surrounding Pariser Platz. The one remaining Adlon wing was renovated in 1964 but closed to hotel guests in the 1970s. It remained in use until 1984 by providing housing to East German apprentices who were learning the hotel business. Then it was demolished as well.

Hotel Adlon reopens

The new Adlon reopened on 23 August 1997, seven years after German reunification. This new building occupied the original site plus some adjacent land. However, the new Hotel Adlon is not a replica of the old pre-WWII building. The new Hotel Adlon was constructed with lower ceilings and more floors to allow for additional rooms. Operated as Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, two new wings have been added since reopening. One new wing opened in 2003 and is known as the Adlon Palais; the other opened in 2004 and is known as the Adlon Residenz. Presently, the Hotel Adlon offers 382 rooms including 78 suites. Its 5-room presidential suite includes top security, a personal butler, and limousine service.

The current Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin

Hedda Adlon’s wish

Hedda Adlon, widow of the last owner of the hotel, wrote her memoir in 1955. It is entitled, “Hotel Adlon” and was published in the German language. It has been republished many times, including in several English language versions. Hedda closed by saying “I want to rebuild the Hotel Adlon, but only when East and West are reunited again and only on the spot where it originally stood und where I spent the happiest time of my life: in the heart of Berlin at Unter den Linden 1.” At that time, no one dreamed that reunification would become a reality soon.

Hedda passed away more than 20 years before the Wall tumbled in 1989. Her wish came true with the exception that the address is now Unter den Linden 77, not Unter den Linden 1. That is because the grand boulevard was originally numbered starting at the Brandenburg Gate. In the East German era, it was renumbered, starting from the other end.

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.

Tags: German reunification, Hedda Adlon, Hotel Adlon, Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, Pariser Platz
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Hotel Adlon Part 1

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

The palatial Hotel Adlon, located only steps east of the famous Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, Germany, has a fascinating history. Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) – Second German Television – aired a three-part family saga early last year about the hotel, its owners, and its guests (some fictional characters are also included). The series covers the period between the last German Empire and the Berlin Wall.

Hotel Adlon’s beginnings

In 1905, Lorenz Adlon, a successful wine merchant and coffee shop owner, purchased a prime piece of land in the heart of Berlin. The property was located next to the British Embassy in the Wilhelmstrasse and faced the French and American Embassies on Pariser Platz. Important government offices stood only blocks away. Lorenz Adlon chose this desirable location to build an opulent hotel. It opened on 23 October 1907. Its address was Unter den Linden 1. Hotel Adlon soon became one of Europe’s most renowned establishments.

Hotel Adlon’s famous guests

The Adlon quickly became the social center of Berlin. Inside, its accommodations were the most up-to-date in all of Germany at the time. The hotel offered hot and cold running water and had its own electricity-generating power plant. In the hotel’s early years, many of the rich and famous, including Emperor Willhem II, the Tsar of Russia, the Maharajah of Patiala, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, John D. Rockefeller, Enrico Caruso, Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo frequented it.

Hotel Adlon, 1926
(Bundesarchiv photo)

Hotel Adlon during World War II

But when Hitler came to power in 1933, the Adlon gradually lost its international clientele. It continued to operate throughout World War II, having added a bomb shelter and a brick wall to protect its guest from flying debris. During the final days of the Battle for Berlin, parts of the hotel were converted to a field hospital. However, on the night of 2 May 1945, after all fighting had ceased already, a fire engulfed the Hotel Adlon. Intoxicated Russian soldiers had started the fire in the hotel’s wine cellar. The inferno destroyed most of the building. Only one wing survived.

Also read about the post World War II history of the Hotel Adlon at http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/hotel-adlon-part-2/

Tags: Battle for Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, Hedda Adlon, Hotel Adlon, Lorenz Adlon, ZDF
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