The Berlin Expo-Center City has been Berlin’s main trade fair ground for almost 100 years. An average of 120 events per year are showcased in 26 exhibition halls and 1,700,000 Sq. Ft. of exhibition space. The grounds are is centrally located, surrounding Berlin’s 500-ft landmark, the Funkturm.
The top venues of the Berlin Expo-Center City are the Internationale Gruene Woche (International Green Week, an agricultural fair), the Internationale Funkausstellung (International Radio Exhibition) and the Internationale Tourismus-Boerse (International Tourism Exchange).
Berlin Expo – Center City prior to WW II
Aside from the very first trade fair building, which was built in 1914 and stood across the street from the current fair grounds on the site of today‘s RBB Broadcasting Station, the Berlin Expo-Center City has been in its current location since 1924. All but one of its exhibition halls were constructed in the 1930s and 1950s and are protected under the historic preservation program.
Hitler used Trade Fair Shows for political purposes
The first exposition in the current location was the Grosse Deutsche Funkausstellung (German Radio Exhibition) in 1933. It was an enormously successful event due to the invention of the Volksempfaenger (People’s Receiver). The Nazis immediately recognized the radio’s propaganda potential and held the purchase price to the equivalent of two weeks average salary. Everyone was eager to get one. Of course, the Nazis did not mention that the set’s sensitivity was so limited that it could receive only the Nazi propaganda channel.
The radio exhibition continued to take place annually and was later renamed International Radio Exhibition. Hitler used the following year’s Green Week Expo for his propaganda as well. Along with the display of agricultural products, fair goers learned how to get the most nutrients out of their food and how to avoid waste. While useful information, Hitler’s men imparted this knowledge with an eye on the upcoming war years.
Berlin Expo–Center City during and after WW II
During World War II, the exhibition grounds were almost completely destroyed, and the Radio Tower suffered extensive damage. Reconstruction began in 1946. During the 1950s, the Berlin Expo–Center City (called Messe Berlin at that time) became a favorite setting for spies from east and west to obtain information on each other’s new products, to meet exhibitors and to get the scoop on the buyers. Members of the Stasi were fixtures at these events.
The Berlin Expo-Center City has been Berlin’s main trade fair ground for almost 100 years. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com
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