Ernst Thälmann Monument (Weimar)

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Ernst Thälmann Monument Weimar

The Ernst Thälmann memorial on Buchenwaldplatz in Weimar , inaugurated on August 17, 1958, is considered a memorial to the murder of 56,000 prisoners in the former Buchenwald concentration camp . It is especially dedicated to the political opponents of the Nazi regime, fellow prisoners of the concentration camp and former chairman of the Communist Party of Germany Ernst Thälmann (1886–1944).

history

Members of the fighting groups of the working class at the monument inauguration on August 17, 1958 as part of the preparation for the inauguration of the Buchenwald memorial on September 14 of that year
Pioneers and FDJ members from the Erfurt district at the “combat meeting” on June 9, 1974 during the 15th Workers' Festival at the monument on the 56000 square

In January 1946, the square, originally named after the Minister of State Christian Bernhard von Watzdorf, was renamed Platz der 51000 (later Corr. Platz der 56000 ) on the initiative of Mayor Faust . An originally planned "National Monument of the Resistance Movement" was not realized. The Ernst Thälmann Memorial took its place on August 17, 1958.

The hollow bronze cast in the workshop of the Franz Pirner ore foundry was made by the Dresden sculptor Walter Arnold and was the first Thälmann monument of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In 1960 a second bronze cast of this figure was given away to the Russian city of Pushkin , which had previously been briefly erected in Halle.

symbolism

The memorial shows the KPD chairman as a charismatic speaker with resolutely clenched hands, life-size. The left fist points towards the ground, the combative raised right shows the gesture of speech. The life-size bronze statue stands on a high base made of travertine , which at the same time exalted it. This is also underlined by the 2.5 meter high wall laid out in the round, which is also intended to delimit this square to the west. It says in large capital letters: OUR SOCIALIST DEED GROWS FROM YOUR VICTIM'S DEATH . The floor panels are also made of travertine.

See also

literature

  • Manfred Overesch : Buchenwald and the GDR: or the search for self-legitimation. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995.
  • Kerstin Sucher, Bernd Wurlitzer: DuMont travel paperback travel guide Weimar and surroundings. 12th edition DuMont, Ostfildern 2014.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Compare the captioning on the digital copy donated by the German Federal Archives at Commons
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ https://www.halle-im-bild.de/fotos/denkmaeler/ernst-thaelmann-denkmal