The Ostkurve is the centre of organised support at Hertha BSC, but it is much broader than Harlekins Berlin ’98 alone. The group provides much of the direction through capos, flags, choreographies, publications and fan-political campaigns, while other active groups, traditional fan clubs and independent supporters form the wider structure around it. The atmosphere inside the Olympiastadion ultimately depends on how successfully that organised core involves the thousands standing and sitting beyond its immediate area.
The stadium presents conditions unlike most German home ends. The running track separates the Ostkurve from the pitch, the two-tier bowl spreads the crowd across an enormous space and ordinary league attendances can leave large areas empty. These difficulties have shaped the scene’s approach: chants must travel through the lower and upper sections, flags need to create movement across a wide terrace and major choreographies require cooperation far beyond the membership of any single group.
Harlekins Berlin have led that work since 1998, but their significance extends beyond matchday atmosphere. The group has developed its own written culture, maintained one of Germany’s oldest fan friendships, participated in debates over investors and club democracy, and helped create legal and charitable structures around the Ostkurve. Its history also produced one of the most remarkable transitions from the terrace into club leadership in modern German football, when co-founder and former capo Kay Bernstein was elected president of Hertha BSC in 2022.
Before Harlekins Berlin
Berlin possessed an organised Hertha fan culture long before the arrival of ultras. Traditional fan clubs arranged travel, produced their own banners and created meeting places across the divided city. During the Cold War, supporting Hertha was closely connected to West Berlin, although the club’s followers were never limited to one district or one political identity.
By the middle of the 1990s, parts of the younger scene were becoming interested in more intensive forms of support. Attendance at every possible fixture, including friendlies and distant European trips, became increasingly important. Large fence banners, pyrotechnics and early attempts at coordinated visual displays appeared before a fully developed ultras movement existed in Berlin.
The most active organisations during this period included Spreehoppaz, Spreepower, Commando Nord, Inferno Berlin, Frankfordia Korps and Young Boys. These groups maintained their own identities, but members increasingly recognised that large choreographies and more organised vocal support required cooperation.
Hertha’s return to the Bundesliga in 1997 created a larger platform while also introducing new problems. Crowds increased rapidly, many new spectators entered the Olympiastadion and the active groups found it difficult to influence such a large and mixed audience. The challenge was not simply to become louder, but to create a recognisable centre inside a stadium capable of absorbing sound and separating supporters from one another.
The Formation of Harlekins Berlin ’98
During the summer of 1998, members of the most active groups and several independent supporters came together to form the Hertha BSC Harlekins. The new organisation initially included around thirty to forty people and concentrated heavily on preparing choreographies.
Its first display appeared during a DFB-Pokal match against Tennis Borussia Berlin. By later standards, the action was relatively simple, using blue cards and a banner, but it established the direction the group intended to follow. Further displays involving sheets, plastic material, two-poles and hand-painted banners gradually introduced a more coordinated visual culture to the Ostkurve.
Vocal support developed alongside the choreographies. Megaphones were used to organise songs, although gaining control over a home crowd of more than fifty thousand people was unrealistic. Acceptance also had to be earned within an existing fanbase whose customs had developed long before the term “ultra” became common in Berlin.
Over time, the group shortened its public identity to Harlekins Berlin ’98 and became the principal ultras organisation in the Ostkurve. Its members define their role through permanent commitment to Hertha, group independence and active participation in the club. Every Harlekins member is also expected to join Hertha BSC, giving the group a formal vote in elections and major decisions rather than limiting its influence to the terrace.
Membership involves considerably more than standing near the capos. Home preparation, away travel, painting, fundraising, meetings and support for members facing stadium bans all form part of group life. A choreography visible for a few minutes is only the public result of work carried out throughout the week.
The Ostkurve and Its Wider Structure
Harlekins occupy the central area of the Ostkurve, where the main fence banners, drums, capos and large flags are positioned. From there, songs are intended to spread through the lower terrace, into the upper tier and eventually across other parts of the Olympiastadion.
The home end contains different ideas about how support should function. Ultras favour continuous organisation, coordinated flag use and chants that continue even when the match offers little encouragement. Other supporters prefer shorter songs and reactions that follow events on the pitch more directly. Neither approach completely controls the stand.
Large flags provide the movement and colour needed inside such a vast stadium, but they can also restrict the view. Long chants may sound powerful when the terrace participates, yet become repetitive when only the central group continues. Harlekins can propose a rhythm and communicate expectations, but they cannot assume that every supporter in the Ostkurve will follow them without question.
The Förderkreis Ostkurve provides a wider organisational framework around the active scene. It brings together groups, fan clubs and individuals who want to support the work of the terrace without becoming Harlekins members. The organisation also operates the fan trailer outside the Ostkurve, where supporters can obtain information, purchase material and speak directly with representatives of the scene.
This structure allows the groups to retain their internal independence while cooperating on questions affecting the wider home end. Choreographies, supporter rights, stadium issues and conflicts with management often require a collective Ostkurve position rather than a statement from one organisation alone.
Choreographies and the Olympiastadion
Blue and white flags dominate the regular appearance of the Ostkurve. Fence banners, scarves, two-poles and large waving flags create a visible centre even when the stadium is not full. Complete choreographies are generally reserved for derbies, anniversaries, friendships and fixtures carrying particular meaning.
The Olympiastadion offers both possibilities and limitations. Its size allows the scene to create enormous images across the lower and upper tiers, but every display requires precise coordination. Materials must be distributed over a much larger area than in a compact football ground, while thousands of supporters outside the ultras core need to follow instructions at the correct moment.
Choreographies are financed through donations, merchandise and the structures surrounding the Förderkreis. Their design and production remain independent from the club’s normal entertainment programme. Practical cooperation may be necessary for stadium access and safety regulations, but the themes and messages belong to the supporters.
The scene has occasionally stopped preparing displays when its relationship with Hertha management deteriorated. Such decisions show that choreographies are not treated as decoration automatically provided for television or club promotion. Their absence can communicate conflict as clearly as a completed display.
Pyrotechnics have also appeared regularly in Hertha’s home and away support. Their use remains prohibited and can result in fines, criminal proceedings and restrictions on supporter material. Harlekins have criticised blanket bans and the disciplinary system surrounding pyrotechnics while also addressing actions that create unnecessary danger for others.
Kurvenecho and the Written Culture of the Scene
Harlekins Berlin maintain an extensive written record of their activities. The Kurvenecho functions as a matchday publication containing reports, announcements, travel information and commentary on the performance of the Ostkurve. Archived editions provide the group’s view of Hertha matches dating back to the early 2000s.
These reports are not neutral journalism. The team, club management, police, opponents and the group’s own terrace are judged through the values of the scene. Poor support is criticised openly, particularly when the organised core fails to involve the wider Ostkurve.
The group also publishes Das Tagebuch der Alten Dame, a large independent fanzine launched in 2008 after the end of the earlier publication Hans Wurst. Every Hertha match receives coverage, while interviews and longer articles allow figures from the supporter scene to discuss travel, friendships, group history and fan politics.
The continued production of printed publications matters in a culture increasingly dominated by short online statements. A physical fanzine creates a more permanent archive and keeps detailed information within the match-going scene rather than reducing every subject to content designed for social media.
Harlekins have also resisted attempts to subject their publications and banners to unnecessary club control. When the Kurvenecho faced prior checks, the group chose to distribute it outside the stadium rather than accept possible censorship. Independence is therefore expressed through communication as well as choreography.
Away Culture
Away travel has been central to Harlekins Berlin since the group’s earliest years. Presence at every Hertha fixture was already a priority for the young scene before the organisation was formally established. Bundesliga grounds, second-division stadiums, European trips and friendlies were all treated as parts of the same commitment.
The distances from Berlin make this culture particularly demanding. Many domestic journeys require several hours by train or coach, while weekday fixtures can force supporters to take time away from work or education. The regular travelling core therefore plays an important role in maintaining the scene during seasons without promotion battles or major cup ties.
Inside the guest section, active supporters attempt to stand compactly around the capos, drums and principal banners. A large allocation does not automatically produce strong support if the most vocal people are scattered across the block. Clothing campaigns and collective meeting points are sometimes used to create a more unified appearance.
Major fixtures can mobilise thousands, but the internal value of away culture is measured through less attractive journeys as well. A full guest section for a derby or promotion match requires little motivation. A long trip during a poor season reveals which supporters continue travelling without the promise of spectacle.
Away matches are also where conflicts over searches, ticket restrictions, policing and stadium bans become most immediate. Harlekins and the wider Hertha scene have occasionally withdrawn organised support or remained outside under conditions they considered unacceptable. Such protests can divide opinion, but they underline that the ultras do not see themselves solely as providers of noise.
Kay Bernstein: From the Ostkurve to the Presidency
No figure demonstrates the relationship between Hertha’s ultras scene and the wider club more clearly than Kay Bernstein. He first attended a Hertha match in 1994, became part of the developing young scene and was among the co-founders of Harlekins Berlin ’98. He later served as a capo, standing at the front of the Ostkurve and directing the support.
Bernstein eventually stepped away from that public role and built a career outside football, but he remained connected to the group and the club. In June 2022, Hertha’s members elected him president after a period of deep sporting, financial and institutional instability.
His victory placed a former ultra at the head of one of Germany’s largest football clubs. It was not simply a symbolic protest against the previous leadership. Bernstein attempted to create a more transparent and member-focused direction based on dialogue, youth development and a closer relationship between the team, supporters and club structures.
This approach became known as the Berliner Weg. It rejected the idea that Hertha could solve every problem through expensive transfers, outside investment and promises of rapid success. For much of the active scene, it represented an effort to restore a recognisable club identity after years of commercial ambition and internal conflict.
Bernstein died unexpectedly in January 2024 at the age of 43. The loss affected Hertha far beyond the ultras scene, but it carried particular weight within Harlekins Berlin, whose members had known him as a founder, capo and friend long before he became president.
The first match after his death was marked by silence rather than normal organised support. Flags and drums were absent as the stadium mourned. Harlekins later made clear that his connection to the group had never disappeared, even while he held the highest office in the club.
His story should not suggest that the ultras scene and Hertha’s leadership always agreed. Harlekins continued to judge club decisions independently and expected the structures created during his presidency to survive him. Their defence of the Berliner Weg after his death demonstrated that loyalty was directed towards principles rather than individual access to power.
Karlsruher SC: A Friendship Across Generations
The friendship with Karlsruher SC is the broadest and most important external relationship in Hertha’s supporter culture. It began decades before Harlekins Berlin or Phönix Sons existed and now connects traditional fan clubs, ultras and independent supporters from both sides.
Its origins are generally traced to 14 August 1976, when several hundred Hertha supporters travelled by train to Karlsruhe for the opening league fixture. Instead of the confrontation many expected at the station, a small group of KSC supporters welcomed the visitors and invited them to a local fan-club pub.
The supporters drank, travelled to the Wildpark together and exchanged addresses and telephone numbers. After the match, Karlsruhe fans again met the Berliners, brought drinks and accompanied them back to the station. Songs for the opposing club were exchanged as the train departed, creating the first visible expression of a relationship that continued through later meetings.
The friendship developed through repeated visits and personal contacts. It survived long periods in which the clubs competed in different divisions, proving that it did not depend on a regular fixture. Families and fan clubs maintained the connection before the arrival of modern ultras structures.
At group level, the friendship between Harlekins Berlin and Phönix Sons became increasingly close after Hertha’s visit to Karlsruhe during the 1997/98 season. Mutual match visits, anniversaries and personal relationships gave a younger generation its own connection to the older fan alliance.
A friendly match between the clubs was arranged in Karlsruhe in January 2004, with Berlin and Karlsruhe supporters standing together on the Gegengerade. The two scenes have also organised joint demonstrations, including a march against repression and restrictive stadium-ban policies when the clubs met competitively.
Matches between Hertha and KSC are therefore unlike ordinary league fixtures. Both teams are still expected to compete, but supporters gather together before and after the game, friendly banners appear in both ends and songs recognise the connection. The friendship does not require every individual supporter to participate, yet it is accepted across a much broader section of both fanbases than most ultras alliances.
References to a blue-and-white connection between the Spree and the Rhine have become part of the Ostkurve’s repertoire, while “Gute Freunde kann niemand trennen” is regularly used when Karlsruhe visitors are present.
The friendship matters because it connects several periods of German supporter history. It began in the traditional fan-club era, survived the hooligan period, entered modern ultras culture and continues through the organisational relationship between Harlekins and Phönix Sons.
Strasbourg: A Former Official Ultras Friendship
The connection with Strasbourg developed through the Karlsruhe friendship. Phönix Sons already maintained close relations with Ultra Boys 90, and members of Harlekins began visiting Racing matches alongside their Karlsruhe friends during the 1999/2000 season.
Communication was initially difficult, partly because of the language barrier, but repeated visits created stronger personal relationships. Berlin supporters gradually became accepted within the Strasbourg environment rather than appearing only as guests accompanying KSC.
The official friendship between Harlekins Berlin and Ultra Boys 90 ended during the 2016/17 season. The groups concluded that differences in development, communication and internal priorities had become too significant for the relationship to continue under its previous status.
The end was not presented as a declaration of hostility. Personal contacts remained, Harlekins continued visiting Alsace without an official friendship banner, and other groups within the wider Hertha scene maintained their own relationships with Strasbourg supporters.
It is therefore inaccurate to present Strasbourg as a current official friendship equal to KSC. Karlsruhe remains a broad alliance across generations, while Strasbourg is better understood as a former formal group friendship from which friendly personal contacts survived.
The relationship gained renewed relevance during protests against multi-club ownership. Hertha supporters opposed the influence of 777 Partners, while Strasbourg’s scene protested against the club’s position within the BlueCo network. The parallel campaigns demonstrated that groups can cooperate on shared concerns even when an old official friendship no longer exists.
Union Berlin: From Cold War Solidarity to Rivalry
The relationship with Union Berlin cannot be explained as an uninterrupted city rivalry. During the division of Berlin, supporters of the two clubs developed a degree of solidarity across the Wall. Hertha fans travelled to matches at the Alte Försterei, while Union supporters joined Hertha followers on trips to European fixtures in Eastern Europe.
The connection carried political and emotional meaning because ordinary contact between East and West Berlin was restricted. Songs referred to Hertha and Union as two clubs on the Spree, while both fanbases used football to create relationships beyond the divided city.
After the opening of the Wall, the clubs met in an emotional friendly at the Olympiastadion in January 1990. Around fifty thousand spectators attended an occasion presented as a celebration of Berlin’s reunification rather than a hostile derby.
The relationship changed as political division disappeared and the clubs began competing for status within the same city. The first league meetings in the 2010/11 second-division season gave a younger generation direct competitive memories. Union’s later rise into the Bundesliga intensified the contrast between the institutions and transformed the fixture into Hertha’s defining current city rivalry.
The modern derby is shaped by different stadium cultures and competing claims over Berlin. Union present the Alte Försterei, eastern roots and a close community image as central parts of their identity. Hertha’s scene responds through the city-wide history of the club, the Ostkurve and the belief expressed in the slogan “In Berlin nur Hertha”.
Those identities are real, but they should not be reduced to a simple East-versus-West division. Hertha supporters live across the entire city and Brandenburg, while Union’s fanbase has expanded far beyond Köpenick. The rivalry now concerns football status, urban visibility and terrace culture as much as Cold War geography.
Derby defeats are judged more harshly than ordinary results, especially when players appear to lack an understanding of the fixture. Choreographies, marches and the performance of both ends are analysed alongside the football itself. For the active scenes, losing control of the visual or vocal contest can remain painful long after the league table has changed.
Hansa Rostock, Schalke and Dynamo Dresden
Hansa Rostock occupies one of the most hostile positions in Hertha’s rivalry map. The fixture regularly attracts large travelling numbers and extensive policing, particularly when Hansa supporters receive a significant allocation in Berlin. The tension is based on repeated confrontations, regional contact and the confidence of two large organised scenes.
Meetings with Schalke also carry long-standing hostility. Both clubs possess substantial traditional fanbases, while competitive encounters and conflicts between supporters have kept the relationship tense across several generations. The size of Schalke’s travelling support makes the fixture especially visible inside the Olympiastadion.
Dynamo Dresden has become another highly charged opponent. The clubs did not develop a simple historic city or regional rivalry, but repeated meetings, large away followings and serious confrontations have strengthened hostility between their active scenes. It is best understood as an intense modern fan rivalry rather than one of Hertha’s oldest defining relationships.
Tennis Borussia Berlin holds a different place. TeBe was once a significant capital rival and provided the opposition for the first Harlekins choreography in 1998. League separation has removed the fixture from the regular calendar, but its historical importance remains part of Berlin football culture.
Union is therefore the defining current city rivalry, Hansa and Schalke represent major established hostilities, while Dynamo’s importance has grown through more recent competition and conflict. TeBe belongs primarily to an older Berlin hierarchy.
Fan Politics and Independence from Hertha
Harlekins Berlin have always viewed club politics as part of their responsibility. Because every member is also a Hertha BSC member, the group attempts to influence the institution through elections, general meetings and formal votes as well as terrace protests.
The defence of the traditional blue-and-white colours and club flag has produced repeated campaigns. Alternative shirt colours, modernised visual identities and commercial designs have been criticised when the group believed they weakened symbols belonging to the membership rather than the marketing department.
The scene has also defended printed tickets, standing culture, affordable prices and the 50+1 rule. These issues are connected by the same principle: football clubs should remain accessible and accountable to the people who attend matches and participate in club life.
Hertha’s relationships with outside investors have received particularly strong scrutiny. Supporters criticised opaque agreements, multi-club ownership and the possibility that decisions in Berlin could be influenced by financial interests connected to several teams. The campaigns against 777 Partners reflected wider concerns about who ultimately controls the direction of the club.
During the 2023/24 protests against the proposed DFL investor agreement, Harlekins used repeated tennis-ball actions to interrupt matches and attract national attention. A home fixture against Hamburger SV was delayed for more than half an hour. The group argued that short symbolic protests had failed and that disruption was necessary to influence the debate.
The eventual collapse of the DFL agreement demonstrated the collective power of Germany’s organised supporter scenes. The actions also drew criticism from spectators who objected to long delays or feared consequences for the club. As with many ultras protests, the dispute concerned not only the cause but who had the right to determine how far the action should go.
Relations with Hertha management have repeatedly moved between dialogue and confrontation. Harlekins have suspended discussions, stopped choreographies and withdrawn support when they believed the club had ignored agreements or treated the active scene as a decorative partner rather than an independent part of the membership.
The proposed future stadium has created another major debate. Parts of the active scene support a football-specific home that would remove the running track and improve the connection between the stands and pitch. At the same time, they insist that Hertha must remain in Berlin and retain control over the identity of its home rather than accepting a project driven mainly by commercial interests.
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| Photo: herthabsc.com |
Fanhilfe and the Defence of Supporter Rights
Fanhilfe Hertha BSC operates as a department of the Förderkreis Ostkurve. It supports Hertha followers dealing with stadium bans, police investigations, data-protection issues and legal proceedings connected to football matches.
A lawyer is available around home fixtures, while information is provided on searches, arrests, interviews and preventative restrictions. Members can also receive case-specific assistance with legal costs. The organisation makes clear that this support is not permission to break the law, but a response to the imbalance between individuals and powerful institutions.
Stadium bans remain a central subject because they can be imposed before a criminal court reaches a decision. The active scene argues that collective or preventative sanctions can punish people through association rather than proven individual responsibility.
Members excluded from the stadium are not automatically removed from group life. They may continue helping with preparation, travelling within legal limits and participating in activities outside the ground. This solidarity is intended to prevent a sanction from isolating someone completely from their social environment.
The wider scene has also joined national campaigns against personalised tickets, facial-recognition systems, police-cost transfers and the closure of complete away sections. Harlekins argue that political debates often describe football as permanently dangerous while ignoring the millions of matches attended without serious incidents.
Social Work and Remembrance
The most established social initiative connected to Harlekins is Spendet Becher – Rettet Leben. It developed after group member Benny was diagnosed with leukaemia during the 2004/05 season. Supporters from Hertha and other clubs organised donor registrations and financial assistance, but Benny died from the illness.
The solidarity shown during those months inspired the group to continue supporting charitable organisations. At one selected home match each season, supporters are encouraged to donate refundable cups and money. The proceeds are directed towards organisations helping people affected by cancer, serious illness and other difficult circumstances.
The project also keeps Benny’s memory present within the scene. Remembrance is not limited to a banner displayed once a year but becomes the basis for practical assistance reaching people with no connection to football.
Hertha wärmt! began in 2012 and developed into an annual winter collection for homeless and vulnerable people in Berlin. Jackets, sleeping bags, clothing, food and hygiene products are gathered with support from the wider Hertha community and local organisations.
Memorial tournaments also form part of group culture. The Remember Benny Cup and Spreebär-Gedenkcup bring together supporters, friends and visiting groups while remembering deceased members of the Hertha community. These events maintain relationships away from the stadium and introduce younger participants to people they may never have met personally.
The death of Kay Bernstein added another major figure to this culture of remembrance. His image and name remain connected to the group, but the strongest continuation of his influence lies in the effort to keep Hertha member-led, grounded and recognisable to its own supporters.
The Hertha Scene Today
Harlekins Berlin ’98 remain the principal ultras group in the Ostkurve, but they operate within a broader network rather than above it. Other active groups, fan clubs, the Förderkreis, Fanhilfe and independent supporters all contribute to a terrace that no single organisation can fully control.
The friendship map is clearer than the original version suggested. Karlsruher SC represents the main broad friendship, with a history reaching back to 1976 and a strong group-level relationship between Harlekins and Phönix Sons. The official friendship with Strasbourg’s Ultra Boys ended in 2016/17, although personal contacts and cooperation on selected issues continue.
Union Berlin is the defining current city rival, but its history includes a period of solidarity across the Wall before competitive football transformed the relationship. Hansa Rostock and Schalke remain major hostile fixtures, while tension with Dynamo Dresden has increased through more recent meetings and confrontations.
The scene’s importance is not explained only by the size of its choreographies or the number of supporters travelling away. It lies in the structures built around the Ostkurve: independent publications, formal club membership, legal assistance, charitable projects, the Karlsruhe friendship and a willingness to confront Hertha’s leadership when the direction of the club is considered unacceptable.
Harlekins Berlin can begin the songs, prepare the displays and communicate the position of the active scene. The Ostkurve becomes something larger only when thousands of Hertha supporters around them decide to participate.