"Keller(t)räume" The Environmental Library in Comics between its Founding and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Zion Church is an authentic and narrative place on the former border. The legendary Environmental Library was founded in 1986 in the basement rooms of the rectory as a result of the nuclear accident in Chernobyl. Young people had come together to “release” literature, which had previously been locked away in poison cabinets, for public use.

Within a short time, the Environmental Library developed into the largest opposition network in the GDR. The “Umweltblätter” (environmental leaflets) were published regularly, printed on Ormig spirit printers. Labeled as “internal church information,” the leaflets also contained information on social problems and satirical comics by Dirk Moldt, the cartoonist of the Environmental Library. In the long run, this was too much publicity for the GDR leadership; in November 1987, the Stasi forcibly entered the library premises and arrested the employees. This action led to unprecedented solidarity and vigils and marked the beginning of the Peaceful Revolution.

Exhibition opening hours
Monday - Friday 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 
Saturday 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

In German 

Zionskirche Berlin
10119 Zionskirchplatz