PalaisPopulaire
The PalaisPopulaire, located in the Prinzessinnenpalais [Princesses’ Palace] on Unter den Linden, Berlin, is an example of how the weapon industry operates at the interface of culture, art, and profits. Deutsche Bank founded the cultural institution with the goal of connecting its engagements in the arts, culture, and sports. 1 It is engaged not only in these, however, but also, hugely, in the arms industry, for it provides loans to a number of arms manufacturers. In fact, Deutsche Bank counts as one of the top-ranking investors in the arms industry, earning big profits from its involvement. 2 Among the companies with credit at Deutsche Bank are e.g. Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Thyssen Krupp, all of which are involved in exporting armaments to war zones and crisis regions. 3
Recently, a different example of the links between the art world and the armament industry caught the medias’ attention, when it became known that Rheinmetall was the main sponsor behind a massive exhibition of German art in Beijing. Rheinmetall is involved in the production of tanks and other kinds of military technology. The news triggered protest among some of the participating artists, who took a stance against weapons producers’ involvement in the art market. 4
2 https://urgewald.org p.15 (last accessed 02.05.2019)
3 Ibid. p.16
4 https://news.artnet.com (last accessed 02.05.2019)