Project by INSCRIRE (><) discovered during a trip to Berlin. INSCRIRE sets itself the goal to highlight
human rights principles into daily urban life. This specific project was realised by Francoise Stein,
who is the main initiator of the project, and Barbara Reiter.
These are the fragments of text that describe the project on their official website:
"Die Station Westhafen liegt auf der U-Bahnlinie 9. Diese Linie verbindet den Norden Berlins mit dem Südteil der Stadt (Osloer Straße - Rathaus Steglitz).
Das Ziel von INSCRIRE ist es, die Menschenrechte - Rechte eines Jeden - der Öffentlichkeit nahezubringen. Und genau das kann besonders wirkungsvoll geschehen, indem diese Rechte an öffentlichen Orten aufgeschrieben (= frz.: inscrire) werden.
Und wo gäbe es einen günstigeren Ort als einen städtischen Bahnhof, an dem Menschen, die auf den Zug warten, ihre eigenen Rechte entziffern?Geschichte
Der U-Bahnhof Westhafen (ehemals Putlitzbrücke) liegt oberhalb des heutigen Regierungsviertels, an der Grenze von Moabit und Wedding. Er war Übergang zwischen dem U- und S-Bahnverkehr. Der U-Bahnhof, 1961 eröffnet, verlor seine Bedeutung als Umsteigebahnhof nach dem Mauerbau durch die Einstellung des S-Bahn-Verkehrs auf dem Nordring. Durch die Reaktivierung des Nordrings erlangte er seine alte Bedeutung wieder.
In seiner Umgebung befinden sich u.a. der Westhafen, das größte Zeitschriftenarchiv Deutschlands und eine Behindertenwerkstatt.
"The Human rights are seen through Heine's point of view. The texts use typographical styles which were rejected by the Nazis. The colors of the very large shapes and forms are Bauhaus' ones. Quotes of murdered people are written by hand on the walls.In Berlin the work is dedicated to Human Rights and their relationships to great German Humanist, poet and writer Heinrich Heine.His work is a starting point for the station's design.In his process of migrating Heine‘s identity desintegrates in 5 steps:
Here in France immediately on my arrival in Paris my German name "Heinrich" was translated into "Henri", and I had to adapt myself to it and had even so to style myself here in this country, for the word Heinrich is not pleasing to the Frenchman and the French do make everything in the world pleasant for themselves. Even the name "Henri Heine" they were unable to pronounce, and most of them called me Monsieur Enri Enn : Many contracted this to Enrienne and some called me Monsieur Un Rien. Heinrich Heine´s statement about losing his name and identity when moving to Paris is INSCRIBED in the entrance halls of the station like a leitmotiv, or an ouverture: the loss of name, personality, then the loss of personal and human rights, and finally the loss of life and commemoration - annihilation.
"Se esta estação fosse um livro, a sentença acima seria o prefácio. Ela é divertida, mas mostra um processo de aniquilação. É a história que contamos com os Direitos Humanos : se não há respeito pelo o que se está escrito, primeiro você perde seu nome e depois sua vida...Esta estação é dedicada a Heinrich Heine, aos refugiados políticos e a todas as vítimas do regime nazista. “Assim que cheguei em Paris, meu nome alemão ‘Heinrich’ foi traduzido com ‘Henri’, e eu tive que me adaptar a isso, pois o nome Heinrich não soa bem a um francês, e os franceses fazem de tudo para dispor todas as coisas do mundo ao seu prazer. Mesmo o nome ‘Henri Heine’ eles não eram capazes de pronunciar, e a maioria deles me chamavam Mr. Enri Enn; outros reduziam a Enrienne e outros ainda de Monsieur Un Rien"."
