Liberty Bell in Berlin

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Berlin freedom bell

The Liberty Bell in Berlin has been hanging in the tower of the Schöneberg Town Hall since 1950 , which at that time was the seat of the Governing Mayor of Berlin . It is the largest profane used bell of Berlin.

history

The idea of ​​the Liberty Bell matured in the USA in May 1949, when the National Committee for a Free Europe was founded in New York . In order to offer the people in the Eastern Bloc a counter-image to the Soviet system of rule, the radio station " Radio Free Europe " was founded in the course of the Cold War and went on air from Munich on July 4, 1950, American Independence Day . At the same time, General Lucius D. Clay , known as the "father of the Berlin Airlift " and chairman of the National Committee, initiated a fundraising campaign in the United States in which many Americans gave money to buy a replica of the Liberty Bell for the residents of Berlin. Modeled after the American Liberty Bell , it was allowed to travel across the United States on a "crusade for freedom" before it was brought to its destination in Berlin. The fundraising campaign, like the other activities of the National Committee, was officially presented as a private initiative, but was designed and supported by the American government and the CIA . The bell itself became an outstanding symbol of America's particularly close ties to West Berlin in the post-war period .

The Liberty Bell bears the following inscription, a quote from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address :

"That this world under God shall have a new birth of freedom."

"May this world, with God's help, experience a rebirth of freedom."

Postage stamp (1952) for the inauguration of the bell

The bell rings in the percussive  e ° and has a weight of 10,206 kg of the British foundry Gillett & Johnston in London County Croydon poured. On October 20, 1950, the Liberty Bell arrived in Bremerhaven and on October 21, it was hung in the tower of the Schöneberg town hall. On October 24, 1950, United Nations Day , the bell rang for the first time as part of a celebration. Since that day, a recording of the ringing of the freedom bell with the words of the pledge of freedom has been broadcast every Sunday afternoon at RIAS . On June 26, 1963, the day of the American President John F. Kennedy's visit to Berlin, the Liberty Bell rang after Kennedy's speech in front of the Schöneberg Town Hall while he was signing the city's Golden Book .

The freedom bell is rung every day at 12 noon, as well as on May 1st , on Christmas Eve and at midnight at the turn of the year . In the case of special global political events, the freedom bell is also rung separately, such as B. at the funeral service for the victims of the uprising on June 17, 1953 (on June 23, 1953), on the occasion of the rally for the victims of the 1956 Hungarian uprising and at the rally on August 16, 1961 (three days after the wall was built ). On October 3, 1990, the freedom bell heralded the reunification of Germany .

On January 18, 2001, the freedom bell was removed from the tower of the Schöneberg town hall with the help of a crane. A low loader drove them to Nördlingen in Bavaria , where a crack in the bell body was repaired.

On September 13, 2001, the freedom bell rang for seven minutes on the occasion of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and thousands of Berliners remembered the victims on John F. Kennedy Square in front of Schöneberg Town Hall.

In the years 1951–1953, a total of 15 postage stamps with the image of the bell were issued by the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin ( Michel numbers: 75–79, 82–86 and 101–105). Two other special editions on the occasion of the Federal President's election in 1954 and the aid for the flood victims in 1956 also showed the freedom bell.

An exhibition in the tower documents the idea and the path of the freedom bell. The 16 million signatures of American citizens under the Declaration of Freedom are also kept here in a freedom shrine.

Pledge of freedom

Going back to a tradition of the Berlin broadcaster RIAS , the freedom bell can be heard every Sunday at 11:59 a.m. on Deutschlandradio Kultur , followed by the spoken words of the vow of freedom. The text of this Manifesto for Freedom is a translation of the Declaration of Freedom that was found on the American signature campaign sheets. The text was and is spoken by well-known theater actors in haunting pronunciation, as a constant reminder to the world that freedom does not arise by itself and must be defended throughout life.

“I believe in the inviolability and dignity of every single person. I believe that all people have been given equal rights to freedom by God. I promise to resist any attack on freedom and tyranny wherever they may occur. "

Declaration of Freedom

The signature list in the US showed two text boxes in the head (“enroll in the crusade of freedom” and “help lift the iron curtain everywhere”), followed by the heading “Declaration of Freedom” and the following lines:

“I believe in the sacredness and dignity of the individual. / I believe that all men derive the right to freedom equally from God. / I pledge to resist aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth. "

followed by the lines

“I am proud to enlist in the Crusade for Freedom. / I am proud to help make the freedom Bell possible, to be a signer of this Declaration of Freedom, to have my name included as a permanent part of the Freedom Shrine in Berlin, and to join with the millions of men and women throughout the world who hold the cause of freedom sacred. "

literature

  • Andreas W. Daum and Veronika Liebau: The Freedom Bell in Berlin - The Freedom Bell in Berlin . Jaron, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89773-023-5 .
  • Andreas W. Daum: Kennedy in Berlin. Politics, culture and emotions in the Cold War . Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-506-71991-2 .
  • Dominik Geppert: The Liberty Bell . In: Etienne François, Hagen Schulze: German Sites of Remembrance Campus 2003; Pp. 237-252.

Web links

Commons : Liberty Bell in Berlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas W. Daum and Veronika Liebau: The Freedom Bell in Berlin - The Freedom Bell in Berlin . Jaron, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89773-023-5 , pp. 16-17 .
  2. ^ Andreas W. Daum: Kennedy in Berlin. Politics, culture and emotions in the Cold War . Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-506-71991-2 , p. 7-8, 12, 42-45 .
  3. ↑ Horst Wagner: The inauguration of the freedom bell . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 3, 2001, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 130-132 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  4. ^ Andreas W. Daum: Kennedy in Berlin. Politics, culture and emotions in the Cold War . Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-506-71991-2 , p. 130 .
  5. ↑ Liberty Bell in Schöneberg Town Hall. In: Berlin.de. District Office Tempelhof-Schöneberg, accessed on May 25, 2019 .
  6. ↑ The Liberty Bell has to go into the oven . In: Berliner Zeitung , January 6, 2001
  7. ↑ See the following articles: Postage stamps 1951 from Deutsche Post Berlin , postage stamps 1952 from Deutsche Post Berlin and postage stamps 1953 from Deutsche Post Berlin
  8. ↑ radio report in Germany radio on the Liberty Bell 24 October, 2005.
  9. ↑ Deutschlandradio Kultur: Listening to the bell and the oath
  10. ↑ October 24, 1950: The Freedom Bell rings out for the first time . also includes a photocopy of a signature list. Retrieved October 8, 2014.