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Theodor-Heuss-Platz (German pronunciation:[ˈteːodoːɐ̯ˈhɔʏsˌplats]ⓘ; colloquially calledTheo by locals,pronounced[ˈteːo]ⓘ) is a large city square in theWestend district ofBerlin, Germany. It is named afterTheodor Heuss (1884–1963), the firstPresident of Germany afterWorld War II.
The square is located at the western end of the wideKaiserdamm boulevard, leading via Bismarckstraße,Straße des 17. Juni with theBerlin Victory Column andBrandenburg Gate in a direct line toPariser Platz,Unter den Linden and the site of theCity Palace in Berlin-Mitte. The axis is continued to the west by theHeerstraße up to Scholzplatz and further towardsSpandau and the Berlin city limits. Underneath the square is theU-Bahn stationTheodor-Heuss-Platz.
The square was laid out as part of the development of the new Westend district between 1904 and 1908 and then namedReichskanzlerplatz after the office of theImperial Chancellor. When the eponymous U-Bahn station was inaugurated by EmperorWilhelm II on 29 March 1908, the square was still without any houses.
After theNazi seizure of power, the square was renamedAdolf-Hitler-Platz on 21 April 1933. According to theWelthauptstadt Germania plans byHitler and his architectAlbert Speer, it was to have an important role at the western end of the monumental east–west axis, including a vast heroes' memorial. It was also planned to rename the square afterBenito Mussolini. After World War II, its name officially returned toReichskanzlerplatz on 31 July 1947. Only six days after the death of President Theodor Heuss on 18 December 1963, the square was given its present name.
In 2014, Google apologized after labeling Theodor-Heuss-Platz asAdolf-Hitler-Platz on itsGoogle Maps service.[1]
At the south of the square is the former Edinburgh House, the Deutschlandhaus and the Amerikahaus (clockwise). The Edinburgh House, was erected from 1960 to 1962 as aBritish Forces guest house and officers' hotel. It is today run as a boarding house by the BerlinStudentenwerk. The adjacent Deutschlandhaus and Amerikahaus were built from 1928 to 1930, including a hotel, a coffee house and a cinema. Since 1937 the studios ofTV Station Paul Nipkow were located in the Deutschlandhaus. The Amerikahaus at the corner of Heerstraße was known as the Summit House, Jerboa Cinema andNAAFI centre after the war until the British Forces left Berlin in 1994. Today it is used as the cabaret theatreDie Wühlmäuse.[citation needed]
In 1970, on the eastern edge of the square located 18-story high TV centre of the formerSender Freies Berlin (SFB) broadcaster was finished. After the merger with theORB on 1 May 2003 it became the Berlin home of the now createdRundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). Close by in Masurenallee is the historicHaus des Rundfunks, finished 1930, which was seat of theReichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft and the East GermanBerliner Rundfunk before the founding of the SFB. It is located straight across theexhibition ground and theFunkturm.[citation needed]
In 1955 aneternal flame monument was erected by compatriot groups organised in theFederation of Expellees to commemorate theFlight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50) during and after World War II. The flame was extinguished in the day ofGerman reunification on 3 October 1990, but again lit three months later onHuman Rights Day 10 December.
In 1989 the sculpture duo Two Heads was erected at the eastern edge of the square. The BlueObelisk was placed opposite the eternal flame monument in 1995.[citation needed]
The novelIn the Presence of Mine Enemies byHarry Turtledove has several crucial scenes set in Adolf Hitler Platz, in analternate history where the ThirdReich rules much of the world at the dawn of the 21st century. The address plays an important role in the novel A Quiet Flame, one of the Bernie Gunther crime novels written by Philip Kerr, where information is retrieved by breaking into the home of Magda Qundt which is located in this street.
52°30′34″N13°16′22″E / 52.50944°N 13.27278°E /52.50944; 13.27278
