Startups turn German Cold War death strip into economic hub

Berlin

WHEN Oliver Feucht-Zwerger left Berlin in 2011 to work in Switzerland, the area around Ostbahnhof, once a Cold War death strip, was mostly empty lots and parking spaces. The neighbourhood is now bustling with new business.

On a recent day in May, Mr Feucht-Zwerger was among a group of hip-looking professionals walking out of a brand-new office building where online retailer Zalando SE employs about 8,000 people. Nearby, travel search engine Kayak Software Corp and video game developer Yager Development GmbH occupy large loft offices.

"There was nothing here, and now look around," Mr Feucht-Zwerger, who joined Zalando's finance department last year, said while spooning fish bouillabaisse in one of the new lunch restaurants …