Lion Monument Bochum

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The Lion Monument
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The lion monument on Königsallee right next to the Schiller School is the municipal war memorial for the sons of the city of Bochum who died in the First World War 1914-18 .

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The oversized stone lion, fatally hit by an arrow stuck in the right side, roars its pain in the direction of the "hereditary enemy" France and pictorially reminds of the victims of this First World War.
The dedication inscription on the base wants to justify the sentiments of a post-war generation:

"Outnumbered / Kill /
In the Spirit / Undefeated"

The monument, which was made possible by collections and donations - a total of 65,000 Reichsmarks  - for veterans united in the Kyffhäuserbund , was inaugurated on May 14, 1928. Among the guests of honor was General Field Marshal August von Mackensen , who was already considered the last representative of the long-forgotten imperial era .

The creator of the lion monument was the Cologne sculptor Willy Meller , who also created the “Schaffender Mensch” monument in front of the Eickhoff company and the brick relief with the sculpture of Merkur at the Bochum main post office.

On the day of national mourning in 1983, part of the inscription on the memorial was chiseled out as part of a public community action by left youth organizations ( SDAJ , Die Falken ) as well as trade union activists from IG Metall and ÖTV before the police intervened. The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) titled the campaign on the following day in the Bochum local section with the headline “Not undefeated anymore”. The action was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts to move the Bochum city administration to demolish the monument.

In 1987 the question was raised again whether this monument should not be torn down. The city of Bochum decided against it and the special commission “Monument in front of the school” was founded.

Finally, in 1990 an explanatory board was approved and placed next to the old inscription expressing the nationalism and militarism of the time. The inscription on the new bronze plaque reads: "This monument - erected in 1928 to glorify heroic death and war - is today a reminder for us to promote peaceful understanding among peoples!"

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marina von Assel: Art at every turn in Bochum; A guide to modern art on public streets and squares Bochum 1992, Brockmeyer, ISBN 3-8196-0060-4

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 50 ″  N , 7 ° 13 ′ 13 ″  E