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3: THE MATERIALITY OF THE BERLIN WALL
early 1990s. Therefore there are only two of the command post style
buildings still in situ. These were box shaped and constructed of prefabricated
concrete sections. They consisted of four levels with the command
post on the second floor where large windows provided extensive
views. On the first floor there was a common room with bunk beds, the
ground floor housed prison cells whilst the basement held all the electronic
devices required (Klausmeier and Schmidt 2004:135). The Kieler Eck command
post located in the Mitte area has been given monument protection
status. The tower itself therefore remain as it was when it functioned as part
of the border infrastructure but its surroundings have completely changed
with a new suburban area having grown up around it (Figure 6). The
formerly tall-looking tower is now dwarfed by surrounding high rise blocks
of flats, left as a curious feature in the otherwise residential courtyard. The
second command post to remain is located at Schlesischer Busch in the area
of Treptow (Figure 7). Here a large area of what used to be the border strip
has been turned into a park, the tower located at its south-eastern edge. This
tower is of the same type as the Kieler Eck tower, an observation and
command station (Rottman 2008:27). There is none of the other type of
watchtowers, BT-11 (Beobachtungtrum 11-metre), still in in situ although
one is located near its original position near Potsdamer Platz (Figure 8).
These more slender types of towers had much less room inside them and
were used strictly for border guards to monitor the border fortifications and
the control strip.
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