Rubble Flower (Munich)

The rubble flower on Munich's Olympic Mountain

The rubble flower is a memorial on the Olympiaberg dedicated to the civilian air war victims of the Second World War , which was donated by the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) and the state capital Munich for the 1972 Olympic Games .

history

As part of the general renovations for the 1972 Olympic Games, it was planned to design the rubble hill around the former Oberwiesenfeld Airport . A political debate arose in the Munich city council, between the departments involved and in civil society about the functionalization, but above all the future interpretation of the rubble mountain in the context of the Olympic orientation. As early as 1966, the Munich trade union federation proposed the erection of a memorial to commemorate the atomic bombing in Hiroshima . The rubble mountain is particularly suitable for such a monument, because the rubble of the air war would immediately remind of the end of the last world war. A special memorial for Hiroshima was eventually discarded. On the other hand, the idea of creating a general peace sign on the Oberwiesenfeld was supported. The order for the bronze sculpture has now been entrusted to the expressionist artist Rudolf Belling .

motive

As a symbol of peace, the “flower motif” was intended to remind of the devastating consequences of the Second World War, more precisely of the victims of the air war. Rudolf Belling's idea was to use the metal remains of the rubble mountain to create a shape that on the one hand extends into the past (through the roots in the rubble), but on the other hand protrudes into the future (through the blossom in the air). Also as a symbol that the peaceful and new had blossomed from Munich, which found its expression in the piled up and now greened war rubble of the rubble mountain since 1947. But integrating works of art into the landscape of the Olympic Park was not easy politically.

The overall conception of the Olympic site should therefore not only extend to the roof structure or the construction of the building from the outset, but also integrate the planned works of art. In this respect, the integration of the "rubble flower" into the Olympic Park should be an architectural expression of the fact that a "cosmopolitan city with a heart" had developed after the Second World War. But above all on the part of the Olympia Baugesellschaft and its architect, Günter Behnisch , there was massive resistance to the "rubble flower". In his eyes, this sculpture just didn't fit into the overall design of the Olympic Park. Contrary to the original plans, the memorial was therefore not erected on the top of the rubble hill , again after heated political discussions , but a little secluded in a "branch" between a group of trees.

The main idea is also made clear by the slogan on the plaque next to the flower motif:

The memorial plaque indicates the donors.

"Flower motif as a symbol of peace"

This memorial to the sculptor

Rudolf Belling

was donated by

German Federation of Trade Unions and

of the state capital Munich.

Erected in the 1972 Olympic year

On one of the hills

those from the ruins of Munich

after the Second World War

were piled up.

literature

P. Giloy-Hirtz : Guide to Art for Munich in Public Space 1972-1997 . Hugendubel, Munich 1997, ISBN 978-3-88034-957-5

Development planning Olympiapark 2018. (PDF) City of Munich, Department for Urban Planning and Building Regulations, 2012

L. Schacherl, JH Biller: ADAC travel guide plus! ADAC Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-89905-246-6

D. Süß: Death from the air. War society and aerial warfare in Germany and England . Siedler, Munich, 2011, ISBN 978-3-88680-932-5 .

Web links

Commons : Schuttblume (Munich) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

↑ ^a ^b See: Süß, 2011.
↑ LH Munich, p. 24.

Quotes:

↑ "The rubble of the air war had thus become a pacifist warning and part of the still young peace movement, which feared the forerunner of the nuclear conflict of the present during the bombing" (Süß, 2011.).
↑ The sculpture and gesture of the 'Erdnagels' by Walter de Maria, for example, 'was to be understood as a statement about the aftermath of the Second World War and was therefore rejected as too critical' (LH Munich, p. 24).
↑ "The decisive factor was the idea [...] of erecting buildings that, unlike the 1936 Games, would not express monumentality and claim to power, but a basic democratic attitude, openness and cosmopolitanism" (ADAC Travel Guide 2011, p. 120).
↑ On the one hand, it would disrupt the overall architecture, which should express the cheerful games and support playing in the countryside, and on the other hand, Germany would not want to become a peace admonisher.

48.170825 11.556095Coordinates: 48 ° 10 ′ 15 ″ N , 11 ° 33 ′ 21.9 ″ E

[süss-1] See: Süß, 2011.

[3] LH Munich, p. 24.

[2] "The rubble of the air war had thus become a pacifist warning and part of the still young peace movement, which feared the forerunner of the nuclear conflict of the present during the bombing" (Süß, 2011.).

[4] The sculpture and gesture of the 'Erdnagels' by Walter de Maria, for example, 'was to be understood as a statement about the aftermath of the Second World War and was therefore rejected as too critical' (LH Munich, p. 24).

[5] "The decisive factor was the idea [...] of erecting buildings that, unlike the 1936 Games, would not express monumentality and claim to power, but a basic democratic attitude, openness and cosmopolitanism" (ADAC Travel Guide 2011, p. 120).

[6] On the one hand, it would disrupt the overall architecture, which should express the cheerful games and support playing in the countryside, and on the other hand, Germany would not want to become a peace admonisher.