De Dokwerker
De Dokwerker is a statue and memorial on Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in Amsterdam and is intended to commemorate the February strike in 1941 .
The sculpture was commissioned by the Amsterdam City Council and created by the sculptor Mari Andriessen . William Termetz, a carpenter who knew Andriessen from before the war, was his model in 1951. Perhaps he and the artist were together in the resistance. The heavy figure of Termetz had the charisma Mari Andriessen was looking for. William Termetz was difficult to persuade to model because of the intent of the memorial (to commemorate the February strike). The writer Godfried Bomans finally persuaded him. The final version was completed by mid-1951 after several plaster model designs. A year later, the dockworker's sculpture was cast in a Parisian foundry.
Queen Juliana inaugurated the memorial in December 1952, and since then the image has been the central location of the February 25 commemorations for the February strike. At the memorial ceremony in 1962, a group of party functionaries and workers from the Eisenach automobile plant was even allowed to take part in the event as a delegation from the GDR . The memorial was also the start or end point of demonstrations against racism several times.
The dock worker was not always in the present place. At the beginning he stretched his hands towards the Waterlooplein . In 1970 it was moved to the synagogue because of work on the subway and the Stopera .
Individual evidence
- ↑ A photo in the report of the AWE works archive shows the monument in the midst of numerous bouquets and wreaths.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 1 ″ N , 4 ° 54 ′ 18 ″ E