Agnieszka Halemba is involved in the study of the presence of religious materiality in highly secularized societies.

In Brandenburg, at the end of 2020, only 17.5% of the population belonged to the Catholic or Evangelical Church, and the majority of residents did not declare membership in any religious community. Accordantly, in the capital of Brandenburg, Potsdam, one of the most significant controversies discussed in the public sphere concerns the construction of a church tower and the church itself.

The Garrison Church in Potsdam was commissioned by Frederick William I, who laid the foundations for Prussia’s military power. As a devout Calvinist, this ruler commissioned the construction of a church for the court and the Garrison as a place of religious worship and moral education for both Lutherans and Calvinists: the so-called simultaneous church. The architect of the church was Philipp Gerlach, who designed many famous buildings in Berlin and Potsdam. The Garrison Church was built between 1730 and 1734. Over the next two hundred years, many important events took place here: Napoleon’s visit to Frederick II’s tomb during his victorious march through Europe; the surrender of French flags after the victory over Napoleon, and many other wars; the first meeting of the elected city council in 1804, among others.

A particularly significant day in the church’s history, often referenced in current discussions, is March 21, 1933 – the important Day of Potsdam (Tag von Potsdam). On this day, the solemn opening of the new German Reichstag took place in Potsdam, with Adolf Hitler as Chancellor.z Adolfem Hitlerem jako kanclerzem.

źródło: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_von_Potsdam

In the photo taken that day, Adolf Hitler, dressed in civilian clothes, bows his head while shaking hands with Paul von Hindenburg, the President of the Weimar Republic, who is wearing a military uniform with medals and insignias. The new Chancellor, leader of the National Socialists, and the old President, representing the Prussian military elite, stand in front of the Garrison Church in Potsdam. This photo is highly significant for discussions surrounding the reconstruction of this place and has been interpreted in various ways. Was this the moment when the Prussian state symbolically accepted National Socialism as its successor? Or is it simply a scene of greeting between two powerful men? Perhaps Hindenburg wanted to humiliate Hitler, a plebeian, with Prussian splendour and glory? And what role did this church play in the larger historical context that led to this day?
Another date worth mentioning is the night of April 14-15 of 1945, now known as the Night of Potsdam (Nacht von Potsdam). That night, the city was bombed by the Allied forces, and the Garrison Church suffered partial damage.

source: https://www.filmmuseum-potsdam.de/index.php?shortCutUrl=Die-Garnisonkirche—Protokoll-einer-Zerstoerung

The ruins remained in the city centre until they were demolished in 1968. Shortly thereafter, the main street of the city was constructed around the same place, along with a new building known as the Data Centre (Rechenzentrum). This building featured a socialist mosaic by Fritz Eisel, depicting technical and scientific achievements, as well as the ambitions of socialism. Efforts to rebuild this church began before the reunification of Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Even so, the actual reconstruction started in 2017 after many discussions that still continue to this day.

Over the past 30 years, discussions about the Garrison Church have been ongoing practically without interruption. Various arguments for and against the reconstruction of the church have been put forward, and each of them has been cited and reinterpreted numerous times. The complex history of the church is interpreted either as a strong argument against its reconstruction (it could become a pilgrimage site for right-wing radicals and neo-Nazis) or as an argument in favour of its reconstruction (its intricate history encourages discussion and enables the exploration of challenging topics). Other arguments pertain to architecture: some wish for Prussian Baroque to dominate the city’s landscape, while others argue for the need to restore the city’s panorama with church towers. On the other hand, some emphasize that the ‘baroquization’ of the city would erase its various social and historical facets, lead to gentrification, and particularly devalue the architecture of the GDR era. Additionally, there are financial arguments: issues related to the division between East and West Germany, ‘old Potsdam residents’ and ‘newcomers,’ powerful capitalist elites, and people striving for social integration and ‘a city for all’.

It turns out that in the construction of the church, the most important arguments may not be related to the needs of believers, the plans of religious organizations, or even the emphasis on the integrative role of religion.