Colonial War Memorial (Dresden)
The colonial war memorial in Dresden was located opposite the former hunter barracks on Sachsenplatz , in the park between Albertbrücke and Sachsenallee, today Sachsenplatz.
Location
In Johannstadt in Dresden, the colonial war memorial was located in a small park on today's Sachsenplatz. This was located directly on the Albertbrücke to Sachsenallee (today Sachsenplatz) and Käthe-Kollwitz-Ufer (Hindenburgufer) and Florian-Geyer- Strasse (Marschallstrasse). The memorial commemorated the members of the Royal Saxon Army who died in the colonial wars . The work of art “Palaverhaus”, a colorful wooden frame, stands at this point today.
planning
The colonial war memorial on Sachsenplatz was the second of its kind in Germany after the colonial war memorial in Düsseldorf, which was initiated in 1908 and inaugurated in 1909 . The Saxon Military Association of Former Overseas Troops Dresden consisted of returned military members. The club flag was consecrated on August 26, 1911 and the decision was made to create a memorial to commemorate the comrades who did not return. The memorial committee that was formed finally commissioned the architect Paul Luther and the Dresden sculptor Arthur Ernst Berger .
execution
The monument consisted of a raised square base with massive limestone elements on a three-tier pedestal. The base was stepped in the bottom third. The front, parallel to the Jägerkaserne, represented the bronze Saxon coat of arms, crowned with a diamond and crowned with a crown . Underneath was the inscription: In memory of the 14 officers and 134 NCOs and men from both Saxon Army Corps XII who died in the overseas battles. and XIX. of the Royal Saxon Army . The other sides had bronze plaques with the names of those who fell in overseas territories. The base carried a bronze globe, held by four dolphins . An imperial eagle with outstretched wings was placed on the globe . The monument was enclosed by a metal fence and was integrated into the horticultural conception of the Sachsenplatzpark. The Saxon Military Association of Former Overseas Troops Dresden assumed all of the costs.
meaning
After the victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/1871 and the establishment of the German Empire , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced in 1894 that the time had come to present himself as a colonial power in the world . Conflicts with the older colonial powers such as Great Britain , France, Belgium , the Netherlands and Portugal were already programmed. Also indigenous tribal groups often sat at the domination of European military on its territory to defend. Since 1891, voluntary sea battalions and police troops have been formed from existing private militias , these were gradually united by the force of law into imperial protection troops and were under a top command post in Berlin , initially the naval office.
On Sunday, October 12, 1913, the ceremony for the inauguration of the colonial war memorial took place in Dresden. In addition to the Saxon King Friedrich August III. , his sister Princess Mathilde, the Crown Prince Johann Georg were high military officers under the leadership of the State Minister and Colonel General Max Freiherr von Hausen as well as the command of the protection troops from Berlin. The chairman of the monument committee Abraham ceremoniously handed over the building to the mayor of Dresden Otto Beutler in the care of the city. The festive event was documented by the Dresdner Anzeiger and later by the documentary filmmaker Ernst Hirsch . An honorary unit of the Jägerkaserne passed the guests on a presentation march, accompanied by the Jägerkapelle. The court preacher Schmidt from Leipzig, once a field preacher overseas, concluded his consecration sermon with a quote from Theodor Körner : Don't forget the faithful dead and decorate our urn with the oak wreath. On May 27, 1923, another wreath-laying ceremony took place at the colonial war memorial. Another memorial plaque was unveiled and consecrated. This was dedicated to the fallen of the First World War . It bore the inscription: Honor plaque to commemorate the Saxon colonial warriors who fell in World War I, with the founding support of the free association of former protection troops and colonial Germans .
After the Second World War , the monument, which remained intact, was classified as worthless and glorifying the war. On January 20, 1947, it was completely eliminated. However, a relic survived this dismantling and is now installed in a vestibule of the garrison church in Albertstadt : a memorial plaque with the names, dates of death and regimental numbers of six fallen Saxon colonial soldiers who died in the former German South West Africa . Today a work of art made of colorful squared timber is placed on the site of the former monument.
literature
- Dieter Miedtank, Rolf Rehe, Manfred Beyer: Disappeared monuments - destroyed - forgotten. Military writings of the working group Sächsische Militärgeschichte eV, issue 7, Dresden 2005, ISBN 978-3-9809520-1-9 , pp. 11ff and 31.
- Meinhold travel guide Dresden 1920, issue 2 from 1920.
- Berger, Arthur Ernst . In: Ernst-Günter Knüppel: Robert Diez. Sculpture between Romanticism and Art Nouveau . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2009, p. 168.
- Newspaper Dresdner Gazette number 283 of 13 October 1913 slub : Film.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Dresden districts
- ^ Dresdner Anzeiger number 283 of October 13, 1913
- ↑ a b c d Dieter Miedtank, Rolf Rehe, Manfred Beyer: Disappeared monuments - Destroyed - Forgotten. Military writings of the working group Sächsische Militärgeschichte eV, Issue 7, Dresden 2005, ISBN 978-3-9809520-1-9 , pp. 11 and 31.
- ^ German Historical Museum : Mauerstrasse 45/46: The High Command of the Protection Troops . on www.dhm.de
- ^ Dresdner Anzeiger number 283 of October 13, 1913
- ^ Dresdner Anzeiger number 283 of October 13, 1913
Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 18.8 " N , 13 ° 45 ′ 21.9" E