The History of the Building at Rauchstrasse 17/18

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In 1938-39, the architect of Berlin’s Olympic stadium, Werner March, oversaw construction of the Royal Embassy of the Yugoslavian Kingdom at Rauchstrasse 17/18. The building is located in Berlin’s Tiergarten district, close to the government and parliament buildings and surrounded by many embassies and consulates. Today it is a listed building.

The property is at the end of Rauchstrasse, a street in which only two buildings were left untouched by the war. One of these was the Yugoslavian embassy. Now the street hosts a number of architectural sights, including constructions by well-known architects such as Krier, Bangert and Rossi, which were built as part of the Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA – international building exhibition) of the early 1980s.

Angel March designed a building with two perpendicular sections: a three-story office wing in Rauchstrasse and a two-story residence-wing with parlours and halls in Drakestrasse. The former office wing now houses the DGAP administration and the editorial office of its journal INTERNATIONALE POLITIK (IP). The research institute is located in the former residence wing. The two L-formed wings enclose a large garden and terrace. The female face adorning the residence wing was designed by Arno Beker. It reflects the Third-Reich style that was predominant in Berlin.

The building’s entrance opens into the marble-clad foyer built around the central staircase. Originally it was lit with sunlight through a glass roof. The glass designed by August Wagner and Charles Crodel remains, though it is no longer lit by sunlight. Passing through the Alfred Herrhausen hall, one reaches the former ambassador’s suite. Today this wood-panelledroom, known as the Otto Wolff-Room, houses the reading room and library. Located opposite are the Hans von Dohnanyi and DaimlerChrysler rooms. The ground floor also holds the Kurt Birrenbach hall, with its large marble fireplace, the large Robert Bosch hall, which is primarily used for conferences and events, as well as the former music room, which has become the Baron Alfred von Oppenheim hall and opens into the conservatory. In a construction unique for its time, the conservatory was given foldaway windows so that it could be completely opened to the garden. This is possible to this day. The first floor of the residence wing houses the Gerd Bucerius foyer, which is used for exhibits.

A Chronicle of the Site

Albert Speer’s concept of a Germania Capital envisioned relocating a number of foreign embassies away from the government district. In 1937 the southern part of Tiergarten was deemed a diplomatic area and construction began on 12 embassy buildings. As part of this process, the property in Rauchstrasse 17 and 18 and Drakestrasse 4 were combined for the construction of the Royal Embassy of Yugoslavia in 1938-39.

Until 1938 the Rauchstrasse 17 property was owned by the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy family. Shortly before they emigrated, they were forced to sell the property for 170.000 Reichmarks to the German Reich. The neighbouring lot at number 18 became the property of the German Reich in 1940 after a compulsory purchase decision.

Until Yugoslavia was occupied in 1941, Ivo Andric, who would later win the Nobel Prize for literature, resided as ambassador in the building. Then the building was taken over for government and political party functions. First it served as an office for the minister of occupied eastern territories, Alfred Rosenberg. In 1942 it was adapted to house the second guesthouse of the German Reich.

Following the Reich’s surrender in 1945, the building was returned to Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavian military envoy resided in the building until moving to Grunewald in 1953.

After 1953 the building accommodated the High Court of Restitution established by the allies. The court was set up to rule on returning property stolen from those persecuted on the basis of religion, race or political affiliation in Berlin between 1933 and 1945. The court’s competence was later extended to cover all foreign claims for property-restitution against the German Reich. The court was opened on 28 October 1953, in a ceremony attended by the governing mayor Walter Schreiber and the three allied High Commissioners.

On June 29, 1964 the court ruled in favour of the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy family’s restitution claims and ordered Yugoslavia to concede a co-ownership share.

In 1975 the city of Berlin bought the property from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 2.5 million DM and incorporated it into the estate of the ministry of justice. In the summer of 1988 there were still three restitution cases pending before the court ceased hearing.

In 1995 the German Council on Foreign Relations purchased the property from Berlin. The Council began working in the building in the same year and completed its relocation to Rauchstrasse in 1999.