Rolf Heider – Civil Engineer in the GDR

What does it mean to be involved in a highly high-profile construction project in the GDR – where technology, the public and politics come into direct contact?

In 1967, Rolf Heider, a civil engineer aged just 27, took charge of the challenging project to build the base of the Berlin TV Tower – one of the most interesting construction projects in the GDR. His task was to design and construct the section connecting the tower to the urban landscape – a technically complex, politically sensitive undertaking that was under constant scrutiny.

In this interview with a contemporary witness, Heider talks about his daily life as a civil engineer on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall: about studying amidst ideological tensions and practical assignments, about projects ‘pushing the limits’ and calculations using a slide rule. He discusses uncertainties and fears of failure, as well as surprisingly direct channels of communication, political influence, and the value of trust and support at the crucial moment. The conversation thus offers an illuminating insight into construction practices in the GDR and demonstrates how technical responsibility, improvisation and political conditions are intertwined.

The film features excerpts from an interview conducted by Werner Lorenz with Rolf Heider on 20 September 2022; it was produced as part of the DFG Priority Programme “Cultural Heritage Construction” (SPP 2255). At its heart lies the question: How can we better understand, appropriately evaluate and preserve the constructions of high modernism (c. 1880–1980) for the future?

The full interview is published in Volume 1 of the SPP 2255 series, Building at the Limit – Traditions and Transformations of a high-modernist model (Cultural Heritage in Construction, Vol. 1) https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783035628616/html