Ice cubes fall from a tray in the clouds. Digital render by Jeff Emtman.

Jeff walks to the edge of Berlin and explains why the Here Be Monsters feed has been quiet for so long.

On the way, Jeff talks about plans for upcoming episodes, looks at the ways that moving to Berlin has changed him, and discusses a pair of films featuring Tilda Swinton: Cycling the Frame (1988), and The Invisible Frame (2009). Both movies feature Swinton riding a bicycle around the entirety of the Berlin Wall—or, in the case of the latter, where the Berlin Wall used to be.

Please follow Here Be Monsters on Patreon: patreon.com/HBMpodcast

Field recordings heard in this episode (starting around 17:20) : a former site of the Berlin wall in Marienfelde ~ birds and insects near Portbou, Spain ~ canoe paddling near the in Germany’s Spreewald ~ geese and peacocks calling on Peacock Island (Pfaueninsel) ~ dusk crickets near Locarno, Switzerland ~ a massive pipe organ that was part of Italy’s submission to the 2024 Venice Biennale ~ public transport boats in Venice revving their engines ~ Jeff singing in a bathroom while a faucet drips ~ Water splashing against cement in Banyuls-sur-mer, France ~ Hiking the Walter Benjamin memorial trail on the France / Spain border ~ Baby goat at the peak of a mountain on the France / Spain border ~ A canal boat passing in Amsterdam, Netherlands ~ An announcement bidding visitors to be quiet while visiting France’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg.

Producer: Jeff Emtman
Music: The Black Spot

Four model cows examine a depression in the ground. Digital Render by Jeff Emtman.

Berlin’s Schwerbelastungskörper is a massive concrete structure that, today, is hidden in plain sight between a railroad and an apartment building. It’s one of just a dozen remaining pieces of Nazi Architecture in Berlin. And it’s not much to look at. It was built in 1941 as a test structure for a triumphal arch that Hitler wanted to build in that spot.

Content Note: Language and discussion of war / genocide

The Schwerbelastungskörper (“heavy load-bearing body”) is the arch’s test structure. It weighs about 12,650 metric tonnes, or about 28 million pounds, and it’s the equivalent weight of one of the four massive legs of the never-built arch.

This plan was abandoned as World War 2 accelerated. And the structure remained, slowly sinking into Berlin’s marshy soil, providing proof of the arch’s impossibility.

In this episode, HBM host Jeff Emtman visits the Schwerbelastungskörper, records some impulse responses in the structure’s single room and reflects on his discomfort in finding beauty in another Nazi structure nearby, Tempelhof Airport (now a public park and refugee camp).

Also mentioned on this episode: The Berlin Airlift, Austrian Tyrol, The Little Mermaid (1989), and Der Herr Der Ringe (Lord of the Rings movies dubbed in German).

Here Be Monsters is an independent podcast supported by listener donations. If you’d like to make a small monthly contribution, visit patreon.com/HBMpodcast.

Registration for the Here Be Monsters Art Exchange is open until November 10th, 2022.
Sign up here: https://HBMpodcast.com/art/

Producer: Jeff Emtman
Music: The Black Spot

Here Be Monsters

The Thaw & Die Grenze

HBM156: Heavy Load-Bearing Body

Content Note: Language and discussion of war / genocide