Germany pushes for UNESCO World Heritage status for Berlin's Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is meeting in Busan, South Korea, until 29 July to consider more than 30 new nominations. Germany has put forward the Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf – the colourful Bauhaus‑era “Papageiensiedlung” in the southwest of Berlin – as an extension of the existing “Siedlungen der Berliner Moderne” World Heritage site. Berlin’s building senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) said the settlement is a landmark of social housing and urban planning, noting its well‑preserved state, its status as the largest of the Berlin modernist settlements, and its innovative underground shopping street at the Onkel‑Toms‑Hütte U‑station. The committee is expected to decide on the German proposal around 27–29 July. At the same session France has submitted a nomination for the D‑Day landing beaches in Normandy, highlighting the historic Allied landings of 6 June 1944. The outcomes will affect the cultural heritage listings of both Germany and France.