Ernst Thälmann Monument (Berlin)

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Ernst Thälmann Memorial, 2018

The Ernst Thälmann memorial on Greifswalder Strasse in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg is a colossal statue that commemorates the KPD leader Ernst Thälmann . It was created in the years 1981–1986 by the Soviet sculptor Lew Kerbel and built as part of the Ernst-Thälmann-Park . The memorial also originally included two steles , which have been on display in the Spandau Citadel since the 21st century .

description

Memorial, 1986

The 14 meter high and 15 meter wide bronze Ernst Thälmann monument stands on a base made of Ukrainian granite . It weighs 50 tons and was made from 200 individual parts. The main part of the monument is made up of a sculpture depicting the KPD leader Ernst Thälmann , who raises his right fist in greeting to the Red Front Fighter League. A stylized workers' flag can be seen in the background . The base bears the inscription "Ernst Thälmann" on the front and "Rotfront" on the sides, in capital letters. The memorial originally included two steles on the sides of the forecourt, which are currently on display in the Spandau Citadel and bear the following inscriptions in capital letters:

“By shaping socialism in the German Democratic Republic, we are setting a worthy monument to Ernst Thälmann / the bold campaigner for freedom / humanity and social progress of our people /. Erich Honecker "
"My life and work knew and knows only one thing: for the creative German people my spirit and my will / my experiences and my energy / yes my whole / the personality for the best of the German future for the victorious socialist freedom struggle in the new spring of the German nation to use! Ernst Thalmann "

The sculpture by Kerbel is an example of the last type of Thälmann depictions in the art of the GDR, which have been very different over the course of 40 years of history . The person Ernst Thälmann is represented symbolically generalized in Kerbel's execution, the politician as a permanent revolutionary.

The monument stands on a slightly inclined square with an area of ​​3800 square meters towards Greifswalder Straße.

Steles with inscriptions, exhibited in the Spandau Citadel
750 years of Berlin: GDR stamp pad from 1987

Development phase

The Ernst Thälmann Memorial was created on behalf of the Central Committee of the SED in the years 1981–1986 by the Soviet sculptor Lew Kerbel . This was a nuisance for many artists in the GDR, as there would have been enough renowned and internationally recognized sculptors in the country for such a commission and, moreover, a long-planned Ernst Thälmann memorial by the sculptor Ruthild Hahne was never executed. During the months in which the parts of the monument were cast, other sculptors in the GDR were unable to cast bronze, as the entire GDR annual bronze production was required for the monument. In February 1982, the preparatory work for the construction of the monument began. The bronze was cast in the traditional VEB Schwermaschinenbau Lauchhammerwerk . An 18 × 18 square meter and 15 meter high hall was built there especially for the production of the parts, which was then used as a gym. So it was possible to work in the winter months. A total of 277 plaster elements were made as casting templates. The delivery of the finished bronze molds took place between August and October 1984. The assembly of the parts was completed in November 1985 and in February 1986 the last fine work was done.

The memorial played an important role in the state's culture of remembrance in the GDR, and since then commemorative events have taken place in front of the monument, especially on the anniversaries of the birthday (April 16, 1886) and the murder of Ernst Thälmann (August 18, 1944). In East Berlin , the memorial was jokingly called "Lehmann" (acronym from "Lenin" and "Thälmann") because of the similarity of the Thälmann face with Lenin .

Since German unification

After the fall of the Wall , the memorial was supposed to be demolished in the early 1990s on the recommendation of a commission of historians formed on behalf of the Berlin Senate. Instead of this consideration, only the large bronze steles with inscriptions, which are obviously propaganda, were dismantled and stored in July 1990. These steles have been unveiled in the Spandau Citadel since 1992 as part of the exhibition . Berlin and its monuments exhibited. The sculpture from Kerbel was preserved and the location was not changed either. A conference in Prenzlauer Berg on the search for the future of the monument as an alternative to demolition did not lead to any result in 1993. The Tagesspiegel wrote about the conference at the time: "At the moment, dealing with this unpopular historical monument is less characterized by sovereignty than by helplessness."

In the following years it was no longer maintained and the object of numerous graffiti . As a result, in the mid-1990s, the slogan “imprisoned, murdered, smeared” was used by private individuals to protest against the decay of the monument. The Thälmann Monument Action Alliance was founded in 2000, with the aim of enabling a worthy handling of the monument from the perspective of the Alliance. The members come from left to left-wing extremist Berlin parties and organizations, including the then PDS , the DKP , KPD , KAZ , VVN-BdA , FDJ . Since then, the action alliance has held two rallies a year in front of the monument. On this occasion, members of the alliance cleaned the monument. The city of Berlin has been paying for the cleaning since 2006.

How should the city deal with the monument?

The question of how to deal with the monumental monument or even how to preserve it arose again in the 2010s. In 2013 the young liberals announced the demolition of the monument and then held a rally with symbolic dynamite sticks in front of the monument. After a number of discussions and opinions expressed by citizens, including in the exhibition in the Museum Pankow (Prenzlauer Allee 227), the Senate placed the residential complex and monument under monument protection in 2014 . The reason given is: The residential area is "a showcase of real existing socialism".

In 2019 the Pankow District Office launched a competition for "artistic commentary" on the Ernst Thälmann Monument. It called for a critical examination of the past and present of the Ernst-Thälmann-Monument as well as innovative concepts for the revitalization of the place. € 180,000 is available for the implementation planned for 2020. In addition, the monument is to be renovated.

literature

  • Stefanie Endlich, Bernd Wurlitzer: Sculptures and monuments in Berlin . Stapp, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-87776-034-1 , p. 324 .
  • Stefanie Endlich, Thomas Lutz: Remembrance and learning in historical places: a guide to memorials for the victims of National Socialism in Berlin / State Center for Political Education, Berlin . State Center for Political Education, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-87776-034-1 , p. 129 .

Web links

Commons : Ernst-Thälmann-Denkmal (Berlin)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Schönfeld: The construction of a political symbol: Representations of Ernst Thälmann in the art of the GDR / SBZ and their function , in: German Monitor , Amsterdam / Atlanta 2000, p. 148
  2. ^ Statement by Professor Berndt Wilde to the Commission on Art in Public Spaces in the Pankow district of Berlin on December 4, 2007.
  3. ↑ a b Ernst-Thälmann-Monument at www.bildhauerei-in-berlin.de , accessed on August 27, 2020.
  4. ↑ Building Directorate Capital Berlin of the Ministry of Building of the GDR: Ernst-Thälmann-Park . Building Academy of the GDR, 1986.
  5. ↑ Materials for the conference on dealing with the monument (initiated by the then Prenzlauer Berg cultural office) on June 4 and 5, 1993.
  6. ↑ Tagesspiegel from June 9, 1993.
  7. ↑ Peter Monteath: Lew Kerbels Thälmann Monument in Berlin 1997 , in: Peter Monteath (Hg): German Monitor. Ernst Thalmann. Man and Myth , Amsterdam a. a. 2000, p. 192.
  8. ^ Ernst Thälmann monument: Young liberals want to blow up the Thälmann monument. Berliner Zeitung , June 13, 2013, accessed on August 22, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Flyer for the exhibition Now it's getting serious - The Thälmman-Park vision . District Office Pankow (ed.), 2014.
  10. ^ District Office Pankow of Berlin, Office for Further Education and Culture, Department of Art and Culture: Artistic commentary on the Ernst Thälmann monument. Art competition to comment on the Ernst-Thälmann-Monument, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Without a date
  11. ↑ Competitions-aktuell.de , accessed on August 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Berlin Thälmann Memorial is being renovated. Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 13, 2018, accessed on August 14, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Anne Armbrecht, Christian Hönicke: How a Thälmann statue triggers a debate on www.tagesspiegel.de, June 1, 2019, accessed on August 27, 2020.

Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 17 ″  N , 13 ° 26 ′ 2 ″  E