June 2011 – The Needle: Berlin

Living in Berlin

Joseph Pearson 26/06/201123/06/2018

The Other Face of Kreuzberg: The Werner-Düttmann-Siedlung

On Fichte and Körtestraße, just up from Südstern U-Bahn, you might pass by an elegant wine shop, a Michelin restaurant

Joseph Pearson 19/06/201123/06/2018

Forcing Hitler Underground: The Führerbunker

Their bodies were doused with petrol and incinerated in a bomb crater, here, in what is now a parking lot. Adolf

Joseph Pearson 12/06/201107/11/2018

Chaos and Colour: Haus des Lehrers

There’s a blaze of colour on Alexanderplatz. When Berlin is at its winter’s darkest, the sensation of alienation heightened by

Places in Berlin

Joseph Pearson 08/06/201123/06/2018

Paris-Moskau Restaurant: In the Shadow of the Railroad

Come to Hauptbahnhof, Berlin’s main station, at 4:30 or 15:40, and watch the creaky train carriages depart, carrying passengers for

Joseph Pearson 06/06/201123/06/2018

The Changing Names of Südstern U-Bahn

This underground station in Kreuzberg has had many names. It was born Hasenheide in 1924, it became Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz and then

Joseph Pearson is a writer and historian based in Berlin. His non-fiction portrait of Berlin was published in 2017. He published a second book, My Grandfather’s Knife, about how everyday objects tell World War Two stories, in 2022. His writing has appeared widely in the press, literary and academic journals, and has been translated into German, Italian, French, Arabic, and other languages. Born in Canada, he was educated at Cambridge University, UK, where he received his doctorate in history in 2001. He works at New York University, Berlin, and at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Since 2008, he has written The Needle, which has become one of Berlin’s most popular blogs. For professional inquiries please contact his agency, Peters Fraser Dunlop, email him directly joseph [AT] cantab.net, or visit his professional website: josephpearson.ca