Commemorative plaques dedicated to the German resistance in divided Berlin, 1949–1989: The cases of Steglitz and Friedrichshain

This article examines the primary characteristics of two distinct Berlin commemorative cultures during the Cold War, as reflected in plaques dedicated to the resistance against the Nazi regime. In East Berlin, the plaques primarily honoured communist resistance, serving to legitimise state power. In contrast, in West Berlin, they predominantly emphasised conservative-military and Christian resistance, functioning both as symbolic markers of a process of moral restitution and as material evidence of an anderes Deutschland (‘Another Germany’). The article focuses on two districts located on opposite sides of the East–West divide: Steglitz in the West and Friedrichshain in the East, where forms of resistance, their subsequent commemoration and their present-day legacy have diverged significantly.