Sigert's Fachmagazin für die Unterhaltungs-Gastronomie March 1990

East Berlin, on the eve of a revolution: Once more, the apparatchiks of Moscow’s vassal state had gathered. After all, they had reason to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their nation. In the end, the highlight of the celebrations was a laser show from LOBO from Aalen in West Germany.

The then rulers spared neither costs nor effort to celebrate the conclusion of the fourth decade since taking power. But while politicians of all parties from the East and West are now clamoring for unification (some even calling it reunification), the West was still considered an arch nemesis at the time.

Still, western technology and the associated know-how, usually not valued highly by the GDR government as imported goods, were required to stage these celebrations as an unforgettable event and self-indulgent demonstration of power in line with the predominant attitude. The medium of laser, also used in discotheques to entice strong emotions and high spirits, seemed to be the means to an end here.

For this purpose, the “Palace of the Republic”, a cultural temple made of glass and white marble completed in 1976 and the pride and joy of East Berlin, was fitted with a new attraction: a laser system “Lacon-3” by LOBO electronic. “New attraction”, because a laser system was already installed in the “Palace”. Which of course had to be integrated into the new system.

The “Palace of the Republic” is the largest representation and event arena of the GDR, with the Volkskammer (“People’s Chamber”) also having its permanent seat there. Under one roof, the large hall with 5,000 seats, the plenary hall of the People’s Chamber, galleries, studios, the theater and the youth club, which also houses disco events, can be found. Various dining facilities, such as the “Palastrestaurant”, the “Lindenrestaurant” and the “Spreerestaurant”, provide culinary delights as well as a location for dancing. Furthermore, various bars and restaurants as well as bowling alleys can be found on all floors.

The enormous spatial dimensions of the “Palace” and the high demands of the GDR technicians required an overall concept for the implementation of the planned laser usage. The planning of laser specialist Grad. Eng. Lothar Bopp, who had already realized a similar project of such dimensions at the Festspielhaus Bayreuth, was so convincing that the conclusion of the contract was soon to follow.

After a delivery time of only six weeks, the largest laser system of the entire Eastern Bloc was finally installed. Technicians equipped the “Palace of the Republic”, the largest cultural center of the GDR (with permanent events such as theater, shows and ballet), with control computers, optical banks, fiber optic light guides, laser mirrors and laser tubes. After only two days of training, the programmers of the “Palace” were able to design their own shows. It took only two more weeks to complete the anniversary show.

This example shows that high tech can certainly be controlled with ease with the right conception. And the laser computer “Lacon-3” most definitely is high tech. After all, this evidence of West German engineering prowess completes six million mathematical operations per second.

The “Palace” technicians are understandably happy with their new equipment, as shown by an excerpt from the handover protocol. “Installation and commissioning of the laser system supplied by the company LOBO electronic were well prepared and highly reliable. During commissioning, the parameters required for the devices were reached. For some system components, better values than those indicated were measured. During commissioning and training of the operating personnel, the performance capabilities of the entire laser system were already tested and demonstrated impressively. The integration of an existing older laser system into the new system was a complete success. The required safety measures are met without restrictions,” the GDR technicians commented.

The official ceremony for the 40th anniversary of the GDR was a complete success for the involved parties. 3,500 selected guests, including the Supreme Soviet and Party Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev and Erich Honecker, then still acting head of state and party leader, as guests of honor, were able to marvel at the laser show, which went off without a hitch.

The laser show, designed by GDR technicians, was programmed with more than 1,000 individual animation steps and synchronized to recorded music in a studio. As the Berlin symphony orchestra was supposed to perform live, the conductor had to listen to the recorded music via headphones and conduct live. After all, the speed of the live music had to match the speed of the recorded music, so that the laser show could run parallel to the music.

While a conductor with headphones was certainly an unusual appearance, it was ultimately in line with the character of the laser show.

The show, which began at 06:00 PM, was accompanied by the symphony orchestra with Händel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks” and ran smoothly and fully automated without any interruptions or difficulties. Afterwards, various attractions including shows, bands and travesti artists were on offer throughout the “Palace”.

Within only a few weeks, a lot has changed in the GDR since the anniversary celebrations. But the technology remains. When asked about the topic of show lasers in the GDR, Lothar Bopp said: “Several systems are in the discussion and planning stages. There is a significant interest in the medium of laser, in particular in the theater and stage industry. This was clearly demonstrated at a recent congress in the GDR, where I was able to give an insight into Western laser technology as a guest speaker.”

Technical data of the laser system in the “Palace of the Republic”

• •    "Lacon-3" laser control animation system
  •    Argon ion laser, Coherent Innova, 8 Watts, water-cooled
  •    2 Argon ion lasers, Zeiss, 4 Watts, water-cooled
  •    Crypton ion laser, Coherent Innova, 2 Watts, water-cooled
  •    1 optical bank 10 times
  •    3 Decoupling positions
  •    2 optical banks 5 times
  •    Software package with 5 finished shows
  •    Graphic tableau
  •    3 graphic scanning system
  •    3 fiber optic decoupling positions
  •    4 fiber optics
  •    3 fiber optic coupling positions
  •    Laser box "LGP-1"
  •    2 source selectors "SSC-1"
  •    Analogous effect controller   "AEC-3"
  •    Neslab water-water-heat exchanger with 50 kW cooling power
  •    Desk system "2001"
  •    3 dust-proof housings for the optical bank
  •    Performance measurement device "UDT"
  •    Transparent screen 6 x 5 meters
  •    Various effect and deflection mirrors
  •    2 base plates