The ramp (memorial)
The ramp is a memorial against deportation and extermination created by the German artist ER Nele , which was inaugurated in 1985 on the site of the former Henschel factory in Kassel (in the North Holland district ).
The memorial was inaugurated on May 8, 1985, forty years after the end of the Second World War , on the site of the then comprehensive college and today's University of Kassel and commemorates the Nazi crimes in the time of National Socialism between 1933 and 1945. It urges peace and is a clear symbol of the dehumanization that totalitarianism, militarism and oppression caused in the German Reich through hierarchy and belief in the state, excessive cult and symbolism in war and the Holocaust . The deportation of Jewish fellow citizens in Kassel and Northern Hesse as well as prisoners of war and forced labor in the war machine of the Third Reich , to which the local industry also belonged after the Aryanization . The Henschel company employed up to 6,000 forced laborers during the war years.
The installation consists of a dark glazed freight wagon , from whose loading door disembodied figures fall into the void. On the ground they crumble into cloaks and lie lifelessly lifeless at the end of their journey. The original surroundings consisted of a paved granite, which was enclosed by wrought iron lattice fences and demarcated the memorial from the street. In addition to the installation, a simple, curved street lamp illuminated the scenery. The memorial was originally framed by a concrete monolith behind it and a grove of eight robinia , which supported the ensemble towards the site. It was surrounded by an avenue of cherry trees that led to the remaining industrial halls next to the university parking lot, and two low-rise buildings that symbolically conveyed the character of barracks. The track connections of the locomotive company were originally located on the site until the university was founded. The gate to the right of the monument showed the course of the tracks stylized with concrete slabs into the depths of the open space used as "Ahnapark". The Ahna runs along the green corridor.
After an arson attack, the memorial was restored in 1992 and restored in 2001. In 2011 it was dismantled and stored as part of the construction work to expand the University of Kassel.
In March 2017, the work of art was moved from its old location in front of a new building at the University of Kassel.
Web links
- Address at the "The Ramp" memorial (PDF; 270 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ HNA: New place for the ramp: Works of art by Nele Bode in front of the university , accessed on March 31, 2017.
Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 24.5 ″ N , 9 ° 30 ′ 18.7 ″ E