BERLIN — Through the failures of the Weimar Republic and the horrors of the Third Reich, in a Germany divided and a Germany reunited, there was always one thing Berliners could count on: their beloved KaDeWe.
More than just a department store, it's an inescapable fact of life in this European capital. Like Harrods in London or Macy's in New York, KaDeWe is woven into the fabric of Berlin, a fixture on the urban landscape that's as much a part of the city's identity as the Brandenburg Gate or the glass-domed Reichstag, and just as big a tourist draw.
So a lather of righteous indignation was only to be expected when owners of the 102-year-old store announced recently that not only did they want to sell KaDeWe, but they would happily do so to a foreign buyer.
Bring on the offers, the executives said, which prompted some outraged customers to retort: Would you sell your own mother?
"I've been shopping here for 30 years," declared Vera Klimm, 60, emerging from KaDeWe one afternoon with a bagful of evidence to that effect.
"This is an old institution that has survived two world wars. It's a landmark -- a symbol," said Klimm, who is adamant that it ought to remain firmly in German hands.
Known formally as Kaufhaus des Westens, KaDeWe is continental Europe's largest department store, a mecca for well-heeled shoppers in search of goods varying from exotic fruits to the latest Gucci handbag. About 50,000 visitors spin through its revolving doors every day, making it a hive of capitalist activity on the edge of Berlin's bustling Kurfurstendamm district.
But KaDeWe's parent company, retailing giant Arcandor, is in debt and in trouble. Hit hard by slumping sales amid the worldwide economic meltdown, the company warned last month that it might have to seek more than $1 billion in new loans to stay afloat.
As part of a restructuring package, Chief Executive Karl-Gerhard Eick said that Arcandor's three high-end department stores, including KaDeWe and establishments in Hamburg and Munich, might be bundled together and put on the auction block to allow the company to focus on shoring up its Karstadt chain of stores, which appeal to a more middle-class clientele.
The announcement marked the latest chapter in KaDeWe's tumultuous history, a roller coaster of success, misfortune and rebirth that was launched in 1907 when Adolf Jandorf, a prominent trader, decided to open a department store on trendy Tauentzienstrasse, on Berlin's upscale west side.
