Monumento alla Resistenza europea

Postage stamp ( GDR ) with memorial 1988

The Monumento alla Resistenza europea = Monument to the European Resistance is a monument in Como by the Milanese sculptor Gianni Colombo to commemorate the resistance against National Socialism . The memorial is also dedicated to the victims of the 1945 atomic bombs, extermination camps and, more generally, WWII.

location

It stands in a prominent place in a park, the Gardini pubblici a Lago , directly on the shores of Lake Como, on the Lungolago Mafalda di Savoia riverside path , near the war memorial built by Giuseppe Terragni , the Monumento ai Caduti .

Emergence

The monument was erected by the municipality of Como on the proposal of the Como-based L'Istituto Comasco per la Storia del Movimento di Liberazione = Institute for the History of the Liberation Movement , today: Istituto di Storia Contemporanea " Pier Amato Perretta " = Institute for Contemporary History "Pier Amato Perretta " . On the basis of a competition in 1978, a commission of experts chaired by the Mayor of Comos, Antonio Spallino , selected the winning design from the 34 submitted proposals and determined the location. On May 28, 1983 Antonio Spallino inaugurated the monument in the presence of the then Italian President Sandro Pertini .

description

The accessible memorial consists of three granite ramps in a circle with built-in stairs that lead up into the void with no way out and thus symbolize the hopeless situation of the Nazi prisoners. Between the circle of stairs there are three facing metal panels accessible via paths, 4.5 m high and inclined at an angle of 55 degrees. 18 short texts written by executed resistance fighters from 18 countries shortly before their deaths are engraved in the respective original language, partly in the original manuscript . Most of them come from the anthology Lettere di condannati a morte della Resistenza Europea . Marble tablets between the ramps show translations in several languages, including German. The German resistance is represented by Elli Voigt with the following text, a quote from the farewell letter to her husband, in capital letters: GERMANY - IN HOPE FOR LIFE, I GO TO DEATH. I GO WITH FAITH IN A BETTER LIFE FOR YOU - ELLI VOIGT WORKER DECEASED ON DECEMBER 8, 1944 .

A stele next to the circle of stairs contains stone fragments enclosed in black planks from the extermination camps Natzweiler-Struthof, Ravensbrück, Sachsenhausen, Bergen-Belsen, Auschwitz, Dachau, Mauthausen. An iron pyramid-like sculpture with an enclosed stone from Hiroshima commemorates the victims of the atomic bombing.

Eighteen resistance fighters

The following resistance fighters are quoted on the boards. Belgium : Marguerite Bervoets , Bulgaria : Ahmed Tatanov Ammedov , Denmark : Christian Ulrik Hansen , Germany : Elli Voigt , France : Jacques Decour , Greece : Serafim Triantafyllou , Italy : Pier Amato Perretta , Yugoslavia : Ratko Zaric , Luxembourg : Adolphe Claude , Netherlands Anne Frank , Norway Borgen Bøe , Austria Rudolf Fischer , Poland : inscription on a cell wall of the Gestapo - headquarters in Warsaw , Romania : Filomon Sârbu / Sîrbu , Soviet Union : Irina Malozon , Czechoslovakia : Julius Fučík , Hungary : István Pataki , Galicia : Chaim - a 14-year-old boy on behalf of the Jews across Europe.

Others

On certain anniversaries, such as Liberation Day , April 25, 1945, or the day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima , August 6, 1945, memorial services with speeches and music take place at the memorial.

literature

Irene Fossati Daviddi: La Resistancea europea nel monumento della città di Como , Como, Nani, 1986, in the series "Società e Storia", published by the Istituto di Storia Contemporanea "Pier Amato Perretta" (ISC), detailed description.
Fabio Cani (editor): Memoria resistente, Parole immagini e luoghi della Resistenza italiana europea in provincia di Como , 2012, pages 5–13, readable online at calameo , detailed information on the creation of the monument with a presentation of other designs.

Web links

Commons : Monument to the European Resistance - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

45.813595 9.076117Coordinates: 45 ° 48 ′ 48.9 " N , 9 ° 4 ′ 34" E

[1] Coordinates and Wikidata of the monument on Open Street Map .

[2] Website of the institute .