ZBIGNIEW MAZUR: Neue Wache (1818-1993)

7/28/2019 ZBIGNIEW MAZUR: Neue Wache (1818-1993)

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PRZEGLD ZACHODNI

2011, No 1

ZbIGNIEw MAZuR

Pozna

Neue Wache (1818-1993)

Since 1993 in the Federal Replic of Germany the berlin Nee wache has

served as a central memorial commemorating the victims of ar and tyranny, that isto say it represents in a synthetic gist the inding German canon of collective memo-ry in the most sensitive area concerning the infamos history of the Third Reich. Theinterior decor of Nee wache, the sclptre placed inside and the commemorative

plaqes speak a lot aot the ofcial historical policy of the German government.Also the symolism of the place itself is of signicance, and a plaqe positioned tothe left of the entrance contains information aot its history. Indeed, the history of

Nee wache as extraordinary, starting as a tility ilding, thogh eqipped ithreadale symolic featres, and ending p as a place for a national memorial hichhas een redesigned three times. Conseqently, the process itself created a symolic

palimpsest ith some layers completely oliterated and others remaining visile tothe eye, and ith ne layers added hich still retain a scent of freshness. The rstlayer is very strongly connected ith the victorios ar of lieration against Na-

poleonic France, hich played the role of a myth that laid the fondations for thegreat poer of Prssia and then of the later German Empire. The second layer asa reection of the glorifying orship of the fallen soldiers hich developed afterworld war I in Eropean contries and also in Germany. The third one as an ex-

pression of the historical policy of the commnist-rn German Democratic Replichich emphasized the victims of class strggle ith militarism and fascism.

And then there is the latest layer hich is the reslt of a lengthy deate in the FederalReplic of Germany concerning the central memorial place to the German victimsof world war II.

*

The ar ith Napoleonic France as the rst modern ar to have een com-memorated in Germany, and primarily in Prssia, on a mass scale not encontered

efore. Especially the victorios battle of Leipzig (18 Octoer 1813) as grantedthe halo of a great trimph. A year after the battle of the Nations Napoleons de -feat as celerated ith ell ringing, parades, performances and ith onres lit in

celeration of the victory. For several years the gymnastics association formed y


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Friedrich Jahn old organize pilgrimages for the yoth to the attleelds. A greatdemonstration as organized on 18 Octoer 1817 in wartrg to celerate the an-niversary of the battle of Leipzig, and of the famos 95 theses annonced y Martin

Lther in wittenerg (30 Octoer 1517). The celeration of the ght against Romeand Paris as condcted mainly nder the slogan of lieration, t also of liertyhich as demanded y the national-lieral forces hich ere still in their infancy.The wartrg demonstration as organized y the people and it soon developed intoa protest against the fondations of the fedal system. Lierty then meant free-dom from the restrictions of a class society, eqality in the eyes of la, freedom ofthoght, the possiility of creating nions and of plic gatherings, and also the rightto create a national representation ith minor and major rights. It is hardly srprisingthat the demonstration in wartrg ith incidents of rning ooks, inclding the

Napoleonic Code as not received ith enthsiasm not only y the Prssian athori-ties. The Concert of Erope estalished eventally in 1815 as spposed not onlyto safegard the alance among the international poers t it as also meant togard the internal order in Eropean contries. There ere eqal fears of oth, a ne

Napoleon and a ne Roespierre. The Prssian monarchy approved of celeratinglieration t not lierty.

In the ofcial Prssian commemorative policy the merits of the rling dynastyere gloried rst of all. Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed via Triumphalis stretch-ing from the brandenrg Gate to the Royal Castle hich as to serve for the gloryof the dynasty dring impressive military parades. The brandenrg Gate (1789-

1791) acqired a ne role. It as erected as an ordinary fnctional constrctioneqipped ith a typically monarchist ideological scheme. It divided the city from itsperipheries along the line of the city alls marking the tariff ondary. It ths distin-gished the representative part of the city ithot ctting ot the vie onto the nicespace arond the exit rote. The Gate as designed y distingished artists, CarlGotthard Langhans (the entire strctre) and Johann Gottfried Schado (Qadrigaith Victoria, 1793). The design as ased on the Greek propylaea (gate, colmns,neven nmer of passageays) althogh the Qadriga on top of the gate rshingtoards the city as taken from Roman tradition. The Qadriga gained additionalsymolic importance after 1806 hen it as taken don on Napoleons orders andsent to France. In 1814 it as roght ack ith celerations to its place in berlin. Itstrimphant retrn gave the brandenrg Gate a ne role of a memorial commemo-rating the victory over the French, more so that it as topped ith the Iron Cross,the Prssian eagle and a reath of oak leaves symolizing poer, glory and ravery.Peter Reichel rightly noticed that the symolism as internally not very coherent:a croned eagle as a symol of monarchy, an Iron Cross as a orgeois-egalitarianfeatre and an oak reath referring to the German-Germanic nation1. Hoever, it

1 P. Reichel, Schwarz-Rot-Gold. Kleine Geschichte deutscher Nationalsymbole nach 1945, Mn-chen 2005, p. 102.


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as precisely these contradictions hich reected very ell the changes occrringin the Prssian ideological programmes of commemoration.

A comination of elements pertaining to the monarchist tradition ith elements

of the national programme can e seen in the monment designed y Schinkel andnveiled in 1821 at Tempelhofer berg (later Krezerg). The idea for the monmentas conceived y Christian Rach ith the thoght of commemorating the fallensoldiers in the ar ith France. Friedrich wilhelm III approved of the idea itself

t he imposed on it the message of a monarchist artork. The inscription it carriedsaid that it as dedicated y the king to the nation, the people, ho on his commandsacriced their lood and ealth for their homeland (Der Knig dem Volke, dasaf seinen Rf hochherzig Gt nd blt dem Vaterland darrachte, den Gefallenenzm Gedachtnis, den Leenden zr Anerkennng, den knftigen Geschlechten zr

Nacheiferng). In the telve niches states of memers of the Prssian and Rssiandynasty and distingished generals ere placed t a distinct symolic reference tothe nation as missing. Ths, it as not in its pre form a monment of the nation,and more so not of lierty. Nevertheless, the inscription maintained in the tone ofa monarchist message to the faithfl sjects spoke of lood that as shed for thehomeland. Althogh it did not meet the expectations of the lierals ho dreamtaot constittion and national nication, in comparison ith the earlier commem-orative practices it as still a small step forard. The national accent can e detectedin the monment eing styled as a Gothic toer, since Gothic as then consideredthe style that as tmost German, and ale to express the spirit of the German na-

tion in the est and fllest ay. Making references to Gothic as synonymos ithreferring to the deepest Germanic heritage.The second otstanding ork y Schinkel, Nee wache, that is the Ne Gard

Hose, as also created in the air of trimph after Napoleons defeat2. It as designednot as a monment t as a strictly fnctional ilding to e sed as a gardhosefor the royal gard regiment, as the name indicated. The king Friedrich wilhelm IIIresided not in the castle t in the Palace of the Cron Prince (Kronprinzpalais), atunter den Linden. The Gard Hose as erected eteen 1816-1818 more or lessopposite the palace, and ntil today is located eteen the armories (Zeghas), the

present seat of the German Historical Msem and the niversity complex, hichfor years as named Friedrich wilhelm universitt, and in 1948 renamed as Hm-

oldt universitt. The Ne Gard Hose as nale and nilling to compete iththe neary monmental ildings. In its conception it as spposed to e a ildingrelatively modest in size t still in architectral harmony ith the armory, the ni-versity and the Palace of the Cron Prince. Initially, Schinkel planned to have threeRenaissance style open arcades in the front. He also thoght aot having the tostylized side toers topped y a crenelage. Eventally, he resorted to the classical

2 J. Tietz, Schinkels Neue Wache Unter den Linden. Baugeschichte 1816-1993, in: Ch. Stlzl (hg.),

Die Neue Wache Unter den Linden. Ein deutsches Denkmal im Wandel der Geschichte, berlin 1993,p. 9-94.


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design and decorated the front ith a portico of Doric colmns. The entalatre ofthe portico shos ten scenes of the goddess of victory, the inged Victoria, sclpted

y Gottfried Schado. In the tympanm Schinkel designed a relief, hich cased

some reservations from Friedrich wilhelm III, and it as completed as late as 1846at the order of Friedrich wilhelm IV. It shos Victoria controlling a attle and decid-ing aot the victory of one side and the defeat of the other. The inners are trim -

phant t fll of grief at the death of the fallen heroes; the defeated are in distressafter having lost and having aandoned the attleeld, their families are sfferingafter the loss of their nearest.

Althogh the reliefs on the fronton of Nee wache only symolically referred tothe ar of lieration and the Prssian victory over Napoleonic France, the symol-ism and especially the mltiple statary of Victoria ere then clear and readale toeveryody. Schinkel hoever, also planned something in the form of the materiali-zation of the symolism y having to states of Prssian generals placed on othfrontal sides of Nee wache adjacent to unter den Linden. In 1822 Nee wache asanked ith the slightly protrding states of generals, Gerhard von Scharnhorst,ho gained fame as a reformer of the Prssian army, and Friedrich wilhelm vonblo. both states ere designed y Christian Daniel Rach and they ere otha monarchist offering. The inscription on oth monments maintained the sametone, Friedrich wilhelm III dem gen. von Scharnhorst im Jahre 1822. The reliefsere again motifs of Victoria ith other classical featres. A it later in 1826 a stateof the eld marshal Gehard blcher as added ith a roadsord in his hand, and

incredily richly emellished in reliefs ith classical and realistic motifs referringto the events of the period. Almost thirty years later (1855) to additional statesof generals, Agst Neithardt Gneisena and Ldig von wartenrg Yorck ereadded on oth sides of the state of blcher. They ere all generals or eld marshalsho had contrited to the victory over Napoleonic France. Their states constittedan inseparale part of the place roadly nderstood as Nee wache. when talkingaot Nee wache it shold e kept in mind that it is not only the gard hose itselfhich has a fnctional prpose t it is a larger symolic facility strongly connectedith the myth of the ar of lieration.

Since Nee wache as a military constrction it is difclt to expect that itshold e srronded y states of riters and philosophers. The gres of Prssiangenerals and eld marshals famed dring the ar against Napoleons army, y them-selves did add to the facility an ara of a commemorative place ith very denedmeaning connected ith the trimphs of the Prssian army. This as additionallysignied y the French cannons from the ar of lieration positioned neary, andlater spplemented y the French cannons captred after the great victory of Prs-sia over France (1870). This continity in the choice of attrites placed arond

Nee wache as not incidental and carried a clearly anti-French message. This hada strong impact on the place itself, althogh it did not ndergo any changes as schand remained a fnctional ilding. until the fall of the German Empire (1918) it


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served as the hose for the regiment garding the vast area arond the Royal Castle.The ilding also served as a temporary prison. In 1900 a military telegraph ex -change as located in the gard hose. The interior as ell as the exterior remained

mostly nchanged. Still hoever, Nee wache as sed as an important place ofstate celerations of a military natre. In front of the ilding magnicent militaryparades old take place and they ere generally very poplar among the berliners.The ceremonial changing of the gard old alays attract a crod of spectators,and the chestnt tree park hich srronded the ilding on three sides as a pop-lar place to relax. Althogh it is tre that in the second half of the 19th centry the necommemorative era moved Nee wache into the ackgrond, it did not take aay itssymolic character. The ork of Schinkel fond itself very ell in the company ofthe ne generation of monments.

***

On 3 Agst 1924 that is on the tenth anniversary of the otreak of world warI president Friedrich Eert and chancellor Joseph wirth sggested that a memorialshold e ilt in hich the Reich old commemorate the fallen soldiers, thoghthey did not specify here it shold e located. The sggestion cased deates asto here in the Reich it shold e located, inclding hether it shold e placedin the city or far aay from the city hstle and close to natre. It as also deatedhether the memorial cold e of a fnctional natre, or hether it shold e onlyof a symolic natre adapted to ceremonial events. Among other things it as con-

sidered ho the area arond the memorial shold look to e appropriate for militaryparades and national demonstrations. It as then that attention as trned toardsNee wache, hich after the collapse of the empire and the proclamation of a re-plic (9 Novemer 1918) stood empty hile still retaining together ith its sr-rondings ntoched symolic qalities. The ftre of the ilding as ncertain;it as ndecided hether it shold ecome a cafe, or hether it shold e sed as

ank premises, or something else. In 1924 Frida Schmottmller came p ith a pro-posal of converting Nee wache into a ar memorial. Her sggestion to clear theinterior, place a sarcophags inside srronded y a grop of gres morning thedead soldiers old give the place an air of a graveyard chapel. The veteran nions

protested against the proposal demanding a national memorial placed in open space,close to natre and far from the sy unter den Linden. President Pal von Hinden -

rg reminded that the memorial to the fallen needed to glorify the heroic deeds ofsoldiers.

Since hoever, it as impossile to reach agreement as to a common Germanmemorial, the Prssian prime minister Otto bran (SPD) made a decision in thespring of 1929 to redesign Nee wache as a Prssian ar memorial. In Octoer 1929Volksnd Kriegsgrerfrsorge organised in Nee wache a small exhiition depict-ing the ten years of the organisations activity, hich as a gentle herald of having

the ilding converted into a ar memorial. It as of corse clear that a Prssianmemorial sitated in the centre of berlin old soon ecome a memorial of central


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signicance. As a reslt the Reichs governments joined the Prssian initiative andin 1930 a competition as annonced for the conversion and adaptation of Neewache as a memorial to the fallen soldiers. Indeed otstanding artists entered the

competition inclding Peter behrens, Erich blnck, Hans Gre, Ldig Mies vander Rohe, Hanz Poelzig and Heinrich Tesseno. Finally, the design hich as ac-cepted as y Heinrich Tesseno (1876-1950), ho since 1926 had een teaching inTechnische Hochschle in Charlottenrg (berlin). The interesting thing as that hisclasses attracted stdents ith national-socialist orientation hereas the left-ingstdents attended seminars y Hans Poelzig. One of Tessenos stdents as AlertSpeer, later on Hitlers architect and dignitary ho in his memoirs nderlined hismasters hostile attitde toards the Nazi movement t he nevertheless dre at-tention to the parallels eteen his teaching and Nazi ideology. Tesseno elievedthat architectral style gros ot of the nations spirit and that there is no sch thing

as cltre otside nations. Also the dreams aot a great leader ere not nknonto him, a leader ho old not e corrpted t ale to commnicate simple idealsto a confsed society3. His designs ere dictated y his dislike of modernism andeclecticism and he preferred simple and astere forms. It as in sch a style that he

planned the conversion of Nee wache hile draing his general inspiration fromthe ideas voiced y Erika Schottmller.

The exterior of Nee wache did not reqire a specic conversion and neither didthe nearest srrondings. In architectral terms the neoclassical style as rather inline ith the then aiding taste hich remained very critical toards pompos andthe overloaded emellishments of the wilhelmian baroqe. The style of a nationalmemorial patterned on monments of that period as totally nt for applicationin the weimar Replic hereas the ne designs ere a sject of heated dispteshich made reaching any consenss practically impossile. In that sitation thesimplest soltion as to accept an already existing facility hich is not controver-sial, and hich additionally enjoys the esteem of the otstanding ork of Schinkel.The place had another great qality. Namely, it reminded aot the changeaility ofthe Prssian fate, rst marked y a hmiliating defeat in the ar against Napoleon(1806), and later y a great reformatory movement croned ith the victorios arof lieration (1813-1814) hich as the cornerstone of Prssian poer in the 19th

centry. It as possile to notice in this an analogy to the sitation of Germany afterworld war I. The wiemar Replic as convinced aot the great rongdoing itsffered from the victorios poers hich imposed the Versailles dictate pon thedefeated Germany. All the political parties from the Left to the Right rejected the

peace treaty and dreamt aot getting rid of the rden it laid. The Prssian past astestied y Nee wache advised that one shold not lose hope for reciprocation andrestoration of German poer4. The symolic appeal of Nee wache cold e easilypdated and this in itself as not insignicant.

3 A. Speer,Erinnerungen, Frankfrt a. M., berlin (west), 1969, p.31-32.4 J. Tietz, op.cit., p. 23-25.


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Tesseno entirely converted only the interior of the ilding and the exteriorremained more or less nchanged. The side toers ere topped ith ols in hichres ere lit dring special events; the indos ere sealed, the entrance from the

colonnade as altered ith the Iron Cross positioned over the middle passageay.Initially, Tesseno anted to permanently seal this entrance ith ars hich coldpossily e opened only on special occasions hile on other days it old remainclosed protecting the interior from crods of visitors. Hoever, the soltion asrightly considered impractical and the interior as made availale to the plic.The interior as cleared so that a large empty space as created. There as alsoa proposal to convert the ilding into an atrim t it as later on rejected. Insteada large ocls as made in the ceiling hich acted as a skylight in the day and atnight dark sky cold e seen from inside. A lock of lack Sedish granite as

placed inside the empty space. It as initially stylized as a sarcophags, and later on

as an altar, rectanglar in shape and to metres high it as lit y the circlar skylightfrom the ocls. If at all, it resemled a cenotaph rather than a classic tom of theunknon Soldier. A large reath made of 235 silver-coated oak leaves symolisingvictory (ork y Ldig Gies) as placed atop the lock and y making referenceto the Prssian tradition it symolized victory. A ronze plaqe as placed in front ofthe lock ith the simple inscription 1914-1918. To massive t slender lookingcandelara anked the lock. There as an air of simplicity and restraint in every -thing. The conversion y Tesseno as generally received ith positive assessment,and the high artistic qalities ere especially nderlined. Yet, the signicance of the

entire place cold evoke some dots hether the artist did not too mch sccmto the temptation to glorify the act of ar at the service of the imperialist policy ofthe wilhelmine Germany.

The monment fnctioned nder the name of The Memorial to the Fallen of theworld war (Gedchtnissttte fr die Gefallenen des weltkrieges). The celerationof the rededication took place on 2 Jne 1931 in a qiet religios atmosphere. The

participants did not inclde representatives of Stahlhelm, the aggressive right-ingveteran organisation t it gathered representatives of the social-democratic Re-ichsanner Scharz-Rot-Gold and the Jeish veteran nion, Reichsnd JdischerFrontsoldaten. President Hindenrg as present at the event. The speeches deliv-

ered dring the event spoke of the need for national nity, hich hoever as practi-cally nattainale in the weimar Replic. Nee wache converted into a memorialcold not help mch in this respect thogh it tried to reconcile varios traditions andeven different tastes. This is ho Peter Reichel evalated the sitation, One moretime in the corse of plic commemoration of the fallen an inorn t ith far-reaching conseqences falt of the wiemar Replic as revealed. On the one hand,it had to consign to olivion the empire hich as athoritarian on the inside and ag-gressive on the otside, hile on the other hand, it tried to sstain social continityand otain athorization and reconciliation throgh commemorating the ar dead.Yet, precisely this did not scceed, it cold not have scceeded. The society of theweimar Replic as in deep argment over the past history, the lame for the ar,


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over the conseqences of the ar and the revoltion. Replican forces made a lotof effort to symolically honor the German fallen soldiers t in the dominant at thetime elief the soldiers ho died in the orld ar gave their lives for the homeland,

the emperor t not for the replic5

.The weimar Replic did not manage to solve the prolem of orship of thefallen soldiers, hich ecase of the vast ar damage constitted a living ingredientof collective memory skilflly sed y the nationalist Right. Not completely ithotreason thogh, wolfgang Krse engaged in polemics ith the sharply formlated ac-csation toards the weimar elites that they ere nale to cope ith the ar mem-ory and passed the reverence of the dead into the hands of the right-ing parties.He admitted that the overpoering nationalist trend to create a mythology of arand glorify heroic death as not halted t he pointed to the incredily complicatedinterrelatedness of the German memory of world war I, the lost ar rememered inthe context of heated argments aot the German lame for starting the ar, andthe responsiility for the defeat sffered y the empire. Soldiers foght and died onthe frontline t also dring the revoltion, hich after all started ith the mtinyof the Cologne sailors. Krse emphasized that the example of Nee wache shoedthat efforts ere made to honor the dead soldiers in an integrative manner and notto polarize that is to refer to death, sffering, and the valor of soldiers. Hoever, the

prolem as that this had to logically lead to the entanglement in the acceptance ofthe ar policy of the empire. This form of commemoration as nale to integrateeither the radical Left or the radical Right ith the reservation that it did open idely

toards the Right. It as incapale of making a symolic reakthrogh eteen themilitarist monarchy and peacefl replic, and it made a close connection ith thenationalist reverence of the fallen soldiers, its topoi and symols, hich eventallyon in the ght for cltral hegemony6. In fact the weimar Replic faced a taskhich as nsolvale: ho to reconcile the rememrance of the individal fallensoldiers ith rememering aot the very dotfl case they gave their life for.This trned ot to e even more difclt after world war II.

***

Nee wache did not case major ojections from the Nazis. In 1933 after

Hitler came to poer the interior as slightly changed t generally Tessenosdesign remained nspoilt and ntoched. The only change inclded a large oak cross

placed in the ack ehind the lock-altar. Its shape as similar to the cross insidethe monment in Tannenerg (1927) as ell as to the one next to the state of LeoSchlageter (1931). This as a salte for the chrches aimed at stressing the specialsymiosis eteen Christianity and the German nation. Additionally, to large oakreaths ere fastened on the frontal alls of the toers. Hoever, Nee wache as

5 P. Reichel, op.cit., p. 150.

6 w. Krse, Schinkels Neue Wache in Berlin. Zur Geschichte des modernen politischen Totenkultesin Deutschland, Zeitschrift fr Geschichtsissenschaft, 2002, No. 5, p. 423


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a hole as very mch rededicated. until then it had fnctioned as a commemora-tive place (Gedchtnissttte), after 1933 it ecame a Memorial in Honor of theFallen (Ehrendenkmal), and later after 1936 as a Memorial in Honor of the Fallen in

world war (Ehrendenkmal fr die Gefallenen des weltkrieges). That is to say it asnot a place of grieving after the dead t a place of hero orship. Dring the weimarperiod the memorial as garded y to plain clothes policemen and there ere nomilitary parades staged arond it. In March 1933 soldiers appeared in front of Neewache. Since 1935 a ceremonial change of the gard again ecame an attraction.Dring national holidays military parades ere again staged in front of Nee wache.On the Heroes Memorial Day (Heldengedenktag) a military parade old e organ-ized and reaths ere laid on the granite lock inside. Reglarly on that day Hitlersed to lay a reath there. Dring world war II cofns ith fallen generals oldlie in state inside Nee wache efore the fneral ceremony.

Altogether, it trned ot that Nee wache did not reqire any special adaptationin the Nazi era and it cold very ell serve dring celerations organized y the neregime. The rededication of the memorial for a place of hero orship as done not

y changes to the interior or its symolism t de to the events organized y theNazis oth inside and otside the ilding.

***

As a reslt of the oming y the allied forces the ilding of Nee wache asqite adly damaged, especially its ceiling and the right side of the faade t it

as still t for restoration. The interior as in a pitifl condition. The altar plinthin the middle as misshapen and the oak reath laid pon it as stolen in 1948; itas later, in 1960 recovered in pieces in west berlin. For some time Nee wacheas endangered y the prospect of sharing the fate of the Royal Castle and eingcompletely demolished. In 1949 yong activists from the berlin organisation, FDJ(a yoth faction of SED) demanded that the ilding permeated ith the Prssianmilitary spirit shold e destroyed. Hoever, de to some inential defendersho as argments sed its architectral qalities Nee wache as spared. Still, the

prolem of hat to do ith the ilding and ho to tilize it remained. Tessenosggested that the gard hose shold e left as a permanent rin arning against

ar atrocities saying, If I cold decide I old not give any other form to the ild-ing. Damaged as it no is, it speaks aot history. Jst clean it and polish it a itand leave it standing7. There ere sggestions to se the ilding as a msem ofSchinkel, niversity ookshop or a commemorative place to Goethe. For a fe yearsit did look as if Nee wache old gradally ecome an eternal rin. until the midfties the ilding as falling into rin ith its frontal part collapsing. Finally, anidea emerged to se the ilding for the same prposes as in the interar period,oviosly ith some signicant changes in the message commnicated y the entire

7 Iidem, p. 425-426.


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place. The restoration ork as carried ot eteen 1957-1960 as commissioned ythe GDR athorities. The interior as restored to its design y Tesseno and iththe renovation ork completed Nee wache as nveiled on 8 May 1960 as a cen-

tral Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism.The Memorial in Admonition to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism (Mahn-mal fr die Opfer des Faschisms nd Militarisms) as completed in to stages.The rst stage focsed on renovation ork and restoring order to the ilding. Themisshapen granite lock as left inside and the cross on the ack all as replacedith a grand inscription: To the Victims of Fascism and Militarism (Den Opfern desFaschisms nd Militarisms). Earlier on the states of the Prssian generals andeld marshals had een removed. In the second stage more sstantial alterations inthe socialist spirit (design y Lothar Kasnitz) ere introdced. The mosaic oor yTesseno disappeared as ell as the granite lock, replaced y a glass hexahedron

ith an eternal ame lit inside. The ocls as covered ith a glass dome sinceelo it the eternal ame as lit. The inscription on the ack all as moved tothe side all and the emlem of the GDR (a hammer and a compass srronded ya ring of rye: a symol of the nion eteen orkers-farmers-and intelligentsia)as tted on the ack all. In 1969 the soil from nine attleelds and nine con-centration camps as roght to Nee wache, and to rns ere roght ith theashes of the nknon soldier and nknon concentration camp prisoner. To sepa-rate plaqes carried inscriptions: unknon Fighter of the Resistance (unekan-nter widerstandskmpfer) and unknon Soldier (unekannter Soldat). This as

a very signicant change since in 1969 Nee wache assmed a character similar tothe traditional tom of the unknon Soldier. This as additionally emphasized ythe permanent gard (from 1 May 1962 to 2 Octoer 1990) kept y soldiers froma special regiment called Friedrich Engels. berliners and torists ere attracted ythe colorfl ceremony of the change of the gard as ell as y the parade organizedon the 8th of May, on the anniversary of the lieration of the German nation fromfascism (8 May 1945 hen the Third Reich srrendered).

Nee wache ecame the rst central memorial commemorating in an all-incl-sive manner the specically perceived German victims of world war II. The me-morial made no reference to non-German victims; it had the character of a typical

tom of the unknon Soldier ith the difference eing that it also commemoratedthe resistance ghter. It as an incredily rave idea to honor the soldier of thesystem and the prisoner of the system nder the same roof. The nknon soldierof Hitlers army as redced to the role of a victim sed y the regime, possilylred y Nazi ideology. It as difclt to assme that he as killed in glorios ac-tion. Ths, a qestion old arise, hat kind of the soldiers action as honored?Conqering Erope? Additionally, the ashes of the nknon soldier ere laid nextto the ashes of a concentration camp prisoner, ho as in a very narro ay denedas a resistance ghter. The concentration camp prisoner as promoted to the rankof an anti-fascist ghter (sacricim), and a reglar German soldier as redced tothe role of a victim of the Nazi regime (victima?). In a ay then the prisoner and the


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59Nee wache (1818-1993)

soldier ere spposed to e nited y the fraternity of fate since they ere jointlycommemorated. This as pre asrd. Despite the solemnity of the place there assomething of a srreal grotesqe in it all. Ironically it as roght to attention that

in fact the soldier cold have killed the resistance ghter and the ghter cold havefoght against the soldier, as the policy of mass extermination old have een n-thinkale ithot Hitlers army. w. Krse rote aot the east German interior de-sign on Nee wache in the folloing ay, In fact the prolematic relations eteento grops of victims, the soldier cold have een the mrderer of the resistancemovement ghter, ere not topicalized and neither ere the crimes and sffering

roght pon Eropean nations y German soldiers8.In the East German edition Nee wache not only mixed and homogenized ex-

tremely different categories of hman losses sffered y the Germans in world warII t, in reality it additionally victimized in a smmative manner a sizale part ofthe German nation, hich apparently had fallen victim to the imposed from otsidefascist regime. This as in fact the cornerstone of the entire GDR conception oflieration of the German nation in 1945. The German soldier and the German

prisoner-ghter ere shon as victims of the anonymos impersonal fascism andmilitarism. Yet, the remains of the nknon wehrmacht soldier ere roght fromGrlitz, here after all he did not ght either ith militarism or ith fascism tith the Red Army. The remains of the concentration camp prisoner ere taken fromthe area of bchenald, a German camp hich cannot e hidden nder the ordfascism and militarism. In rief, the evil forces ere pshed ot in the sphere

of fascism and militarism, hich occrred oth in the past (the Third Reich)and in the present (west Germany). It as all done in an ndened and nexplainedastract manner and therefore y itself more dangeros and threatening. Searchingfor any traces of an honest attempt to face p to the nations past old e in vain.Hoever, it old e difclt to deny that in political terms the decision to rededi-cate Nee wache as a tom of the unknon Soldier and Resistance Fighter asan exceptionally skilfl move. what is more, althogh the place as marked y thePrssian traditions, politically they ere not as tochy as it reminded aot the arof lieration aged arm in arm ith tsarist Rssia. The ilding as nely locatedon the axis leading to the order crossing at the brandenrg Gate and it had noeqivalent either in west berlin or in the hole of west Germany.

It as mch more difclt to create an analogos commemorative place in theFederal Replic of Germany. while East Germany had the readymade Nee wache,hich only reqired some adaptation to t the political needs, in west Germanythere as no readymade facility that cold e appropriate to e adapted in a similarstyle. The preserved rin of the Kaiser-wilhelm Gedchtniskirche in west berlinas of a special character and cold not fnction as a nations central commemora-tive place. There as no adeqate facility in bonn, hich anyay as a city treated

8 Iidem, p. 429.


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60 Zignie Mazr

for many years as a makeshift capital. It as only in 1961, after the berlin all aserected and the hope for a relatively soon nication died don that plans eremade to convert bonn into a city that old meet all the reqirements for a modern

seat of the state athorities. It as also not incidental that in the 1960s voices ereraised that there shold e a memorial ilt in bonn to honor the fallen soldiers inworld war II. Some pressre as exerted y the Volksnd Detsche Kriegsgrer-frsorge as ell as y the ar veterans organisations. The federal athorities erealso interested at least ecase they needed a place that old e appropriately de -signed so that delegations of foreign gests cold lay reaths and do their honors.This as something more than the qestion of protocol as it cold symolically im-

prove the stats of the Federal Replic in the international arena. Politicians hilevisiting Paris or London old lay reaths at the toms of the unknon Soldierenshroded in historical tradition hereas there as no sch place in bonn and the

Federal Replic anted to e treated like any other contry. Hoever, the prolemas that German history as qite specic and erecting a memorial of the unknonSoldier of Hitlers army old e an odd creation. who, apart from the Germansthemselves, old like to lay a reath there?

In 1964 a grand ronze plaqe as installed in the centre of bonn (Hofgarten),neary the niversity right in front of the Knstmsem, on the order eteen theold part of the city and the nely emerging government qarter. The inscription said,To the victims of ar and tyranny (Den Opfern der Kriege nd Gealtherrschaft).On 16 Jne 1964 dring the nveiling ceremony president Heinrich Lke (CDu)laid a reath ith a sash saying, Gedenken an die Opfer des Volksafstandes am17. Jni 1953. It old e difclt to nd a more straightforard denition of hatthe Germans nderstood nder the term victims of tyranny. Hoever, Hofgartenin the years of the revolt of the yoth as constantly a place of demonstrations and itas not t for protocol ceremonies. Conseqently, in 1980 president Karl Carstens(CDu) had the plaqe moved to the cemetery in the northern part of the city (Nord-friedhof) here trly etter conditions ere created for reath laying ceremonies. Itas a ar cemetery. In 1933 a tall cross as erected to commemorate the fallen inworld war I. Altogether 2,186 people had een ried there inclding the fallen in

oth orld ars (17 soldiers of the waffen-SS) and civilians (also 96 forced laor-

ers). It as the place here since the 1950s reaths ere laid on the National Dayof Morning (Volkstraertag). The plaqe as installed on a plinth at some distancefrom the cross hich gave enogh room for ofcial ceremonies t the hole placelooked rather modest. In 1977 plans to erect a memorial to the fallen in oth arshich old e located in a more representative place than the bonn cemetery re-vived yet again. In 1981 the idea received spport from chancellor Helmt Schmidt(SPD) ho sggested that not only the fallen soldiers shold e commemorated talso German people mrdered in concentration camps or killed dring air raids 9.

9 b. Schlz,Kein Konsens im Land der Menschlichkeit. Zur Vorgeschichte einer Gedenksttte derBundesrepublik Deutschland, : Ch. Stlzl (hg.), op.cit., p. 176-177.


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61Nee wache (1818-1993)

In 1982 the President of the bndestag, Richard Stcklen smitted the concep-tion of a memorial and admonition to commemorate millions of German soldiers

ried in nknon places in the east or elsehere. On 8 May 1983 Volksnd Det-

sche Kriegsgrerfrsorge smitted a memorandm hich demanded that a na-tional memorial shold e erected to commemorate the fallen of the German nation(soldiers killed and those ho died from onds, those ho died in prisoner-of-arcamps, people killed dring ight and explsion, German victims of the Nazi ag-gression). The memorial as to e dedicated exclsively to the German victims, andalso those of Jeish origin. Volksnds sggestion that a cron of thorns shold

e a part of the memorial as rejected y the Jeish commnity ho ere hostiletoards Christian symols. Finally, y the end of 1983 it as decided that the gov-ernment old erect a joint memorial to all German victims of ar and dictator-ship10. Still the Right demanded a memorial for the fallen soldiers, hile the Jes,Sinti and Roma did not ant a shared memorial ith German soldiers. Temporarilythe hole idea collapsed only to e revived in 1985 dring the celerations of thefortieth anniversary of the Third Reichs capitlation. Volksnd again demandeda memorial and received fll spport from chancellor Helmt Kohl (CDu), ho asdreaming aot a eatifl place sitale for the reath laying ceremonies dringvisits paid y foreign presidents and prime ministers. On 26 March 1985 the federalgovernment made a decision to create a Hose of the History of the Federal Replic(bonn), German Historical Msem (berlin) and a ar memorial to the fallen in thegovernment qarter of bonn.

The isse of the memorial as moved to the bndestag. On 21 Novemer 1985the parliamentary faction SPD came ith an initiative that the bndestag sholdopen a ig plic deate concerning the admonition memorial in bonn and the con-strction of the Commemorative Hose (Denkhas) shoing terror and violation ofhman rights. At the same time SPD called for a road action of commemoratingall the places of the Nazi crimes in the entire replic11. Shortly after on 11 Decem-

er 1985 the faction Die Grnen smitted a motion inclding a protest against thememorial for the fallen eing ilt. The motion read that the Federal Replic doesnot need a National Admonition Memorial on the Rhine and that foreign gests canlay reaths as they had done so far at the bonn cemetery. The foreign state gests,ho ish to honor the fallen soldiers in bonn y laying a reath or other gestreill sho nderstanding, in the manner they have done in the past 36 years, for thefact that in the Federal Replic an attempt to erect a national admonition memorialhas to clash ith the nsolvale prolem, namely the danger of eqating in death the

perpetrators and the victims of the national-socialist crimes against hmanity12. In

10 w. Krse, op.cit., p.431; b. Schlz, op.cit., p. 177-178.11 Antrag der Fraktion der SPD. Geplantes Mahnmal in bonn. Detscher bndestag. 10. wahlperi-

ode. Drcksache 10/4293. 21.11.85.12 Antrag der Fraktion Die Grnen. Geplante zentrale Mahn- nd Gedenksttte im Regierngsvier-

tel in bonn. Detscher bndestag. 10. wahlperiode. Drcksache 10/4521, 11.12.85.


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62 Zignie Mazr

response on 4 Ferary 1986 the factions CDu/CSu and FDP smitted a motionin hich they spported the governments initiative to create a ne commemorative

place in the capital. The motion said that Nordfriedhof does not fll the fnction

of a central commemorative place, hile sch a place is needed in every nationecase it gives the opportnity to the representatives of foreign contries to shoreverence for the fallen of the gest contry13. The memorial shold e erected, assggested y the government, in Grona close to the centre of bonn, in the parlia-mentary and government qarter of the city. On 25 April 1986 a to-hor deate onthe memorial took place in the bndestag hich ended p ith postponing the holeisse ntil sometime in the ftre14.

The Christian Democrat faction in their motion nanimosly demanded thata central commemorative place shold e created and dedicated to the victims ofar and tyranny, especially to the fallen of or nation. The Minister for Constrc-

tion, Oscar Schneider representing the government in the deate stressed, we canno longer linger ith erecting a memorial to the fallen of or nation, the victims ofar and dictatorship in or federal capital. Alfred Dregger (CDu) ith great en-gagement defended the rights of Germans to commemorate their victims. He repliedto the dilemmas as to ho as a victim and ho as the perpetrator ith a straight-forard anser saying that the entire nation as the victim.

Let s test it against the horrendos alance of the losses sffered y or nation since 1914;since then 300,000 Germans died de to racial, religios and political persections; 500,000 Ger-mans died as victims of ar air raids against civilians; 2.2 million German people died as victims

of ight and explsion; 2 million German soldiers died dring world war I; 3.1 million Germansoldiers died in world war II, and esides that 1.2 million German soldiers ere prononced miss-ing. This monts p to almost 10 million memers of or nation ho since 1914 had een y forcedeprived of life. As e kno there is no family in or nation hich has not lost some family mem-ers in one ay or another. So I ask yo, who old ant to take on the role of a jdge of the deadho are silent and cannot defend themselves? who ill dare to divide them into the categories ofvictims and perpetrators? At least I, myself am not ready to do it. I do not exclde anyody fromnearly 10 million people. I hold them all ithot exception in my prayers. I ant to e only theirdefender and advocate hile at the same time eing an advocate of the martyred and decimatednation they came from.

Dregger demanded the commemoration of the especially close victims, thatis Germans hile at the same time ghting don the idea pt forard y presidentRichard von weizscker in his speech delivered on 8 May 1985 on the occasion ofthe anniversary of the capitlation of the Third Reich, in hich a sggestion asmade that the inscription on the memorial shold take into accont a cataloge ofGerman and non-German victims. Dregger clearly demanded to honor the German

13 Antrag der Fraktionen der CDu/CSu nd FDP. Zentrale Gedenksttte in der bndeshaptstadt.Detscher bndestag. 10. wahlperiode. Drcksache 10/4998, 4 2. 86.

14 Detscher bndestag. 10. wahlperiode. 214 Sitzng. bonn Freitag den 25. April 1986, p. 16460-16477.


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63Nee wache (1818-1993)

soldiers fallen on the frontlines of world war I and II, German prisoners mrderedin concentration camps, Germans killed dring their ight and explsion and dr-ing the allied air raids. He strongly emphasized that all Germans had to e inclded

ithot dividing the dead into the right and the rong ones. He in particlar de-fended commemorating the soldiers of Hitlers wehrmacht, ho althogh had eensed y the regime t they still deserved gratitde for having done their dty inan exemplary manner and for ravery on the attleeld (Die Tatsache, da nsereSoldaten von einem unrechtsregime in einem sinnlosen Krieg miracht ordensind, mindert nicht nsere Dankarkeit fr ihr Pichtgefhl nd ihre Tapferkeit).He nderlined several times that in death they are all eqal and that they can onlystand efore Gods trinal (Im Tode sind ir alle gleich, nd nsere Seelen dasglaen Christen, Moslems nd Jden sind in der Gerechtigkeit Gottes, die die n-sere ei eitem ersteigt). Althogh Dregger as knon for his nationalist vies,

the fact that sch ords ere spoken in the bndestag forty years after wwII, mstanyay call for reection. One has the right to srmise that he as not at all in hison in sch vies. The image he presented as ghastly: rave soldiers in Hitlersarmy, poor German civilians toched y ar, the most ronged nation in Eropeanhistory. In death everyody is indeed eqal at the moment of rial t death doesnot eqate in terms of hat has een efore it (and in hat name life as given)and hat ill happen afterards (the place and the manner of commemoration). Itseemed that Dregger had not decided as yet to take off his niform of a wehrmachtofcer.

The Social Democrats in their motion dre attention to the fact that hen com-

memorating the fallen one has to take into accont oth the cases and conseqencesof world war II, political responsiility and moral gilt. They rejected the ideaof a national memorial to the fallen that is they did not agree to have a memorialhich old oliterate the responsiility and the lame as ell as eing limited tothe German victims and the German fallen. Horst Ehmke noticed that the Nazi paststill had not een sfciently acconted for and that erecting a normal memorialfor German soldiers old mean relativizing crimes committed y the Third Reich.Therefore a potential memorial shold inclde all the victims of ar and tyrannyithot closing oneself in the circle of German victims. The inscription shold name

all the categories of victims from the speech delivered y president weizscker thatis oth German and non-German. Ths the memorial shold differentiate and notoliterate the differences eteen the victims. He also reminded that the Jeishcircles decisively ojected to commemorating in one memorial the victims and the

perpetrators. Peter Conradi strongly emphasized that it is not aot the graves, theright to rial and Antigones gestre t aot the message to the living that old

e sent y the memorial. It is not aot the cemetery and the rights of the dead taot a sign for the living. A memorial in admonition is something different fromAntigones legacy toards her dead rother. The SPD faction as not only againstthe memorial to the fallen soldiers t it placed in sharp focs the prolem of com -memorating the non-German victims.


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64 Zignie Mazr

Die Grnen folloed in the same direction and in their motion they very rmlyand straightforardly opposed the idea of erecting a national memorial at the sametime demanding that all the places of Nazi crimes shold e adeqately commemo-

rated. The Green party elieved that nder no circmstances the victims shold ept together ith the perpetrators and that the prolem of the lame shold not epassed over in silence. In simple terms they regarded that comining in a single me-morial varios commemorative isses as impossile and ndesired; ths instead oferecting one central memorial local memorials shold e created to commemoratespecic instances of Nazi crimes. The partys representative, Stre reiterated this ina parliamentary deate saying that the idea of a central memorial shold e rejected,the mrderers and the mrdered cannot e commemorated in one place, the respon-siility for the mrders has to e acknoledged and it is a mst to commemorate the

people mrdered in concentration camps. He said, we reject the idea of a national

admonition memorial on the Rhine. The state gests of the Federal Replic illcertainly nderstand that honoring the fallen and laying reaths in not a simplematter in the Federal Replic as it is in other contries. The attitde represented

y the Greens and also y the social democrats reected the groing sensitivityin the 1980s to the prolem of the extermination of Jeish people. The prolemcold not e entirely ignored y the conservative Right. The Greens and the socialdemocrats seemed to e saying that rst the extermination of the Jes has to ethoroghly acconted for and the places here the crimes ere committed have to

e adeqately commemorated, and there is no ay that the German and non-German

victims shold e collectively homogenized. In the mid 1980s there as no chancefor a consenss concerning the national memorial to e reached eteen the majorpolitical forces. The Minister for Constrction, Oscar Schneider rightly noticed thata national admonition memorial, a commemorative place for the entire Germannation, for all the fallen ecase of ar and tyranny reqired a national consenss.waiting for sch a consenss ended p only ith the renication of Germany.

The sitation after the renication as made easier y the fact that the centralmemorial as there in the form of Nee wache. On 31 May 1990 that is already e-fore the formal renication East Germanys parliament passed a motion aot hav-ing the GDRs emlem removed from Nee wache hile the gard as ithdran

on the day of the renication (3 Octoer 1990). The rest as left nchanged iththe eternal ame still rning. According to the renication act, Nee wache asa central memorial to the victims of militarism and fascism as to e protected

y the state athorities, hich did not exclde changes to its decor. A discssionstarted over the ftre of the place. Hoever, it did not involve considering a changein the fnctioning of the ilding t it focsed on the natre of changes that shold

e introdced to the so far East German memorial. The corse of events as speededp y the decision aot the seat of the government. Folloing the act from 31Agst 1990, berlin ecame the capital of the renied Germany hich, hoever

did not mean that it old also e the seat of the central athorities. In Jne 1991the bndestag made a decision that the government ill have its seat in berlin. Im-


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65Nee wache (1818-1993)

mediately, the isse of the ftre of Nee wache as roght to attention. beteen1991-1993 a heated deate took place concerning changes to the interior decor tthe nal decision as left in the hands of politicians, and more specically chancel-

lor Helmt Kohl, ho from the very eginning sa in Nee wache a dream placefor a representative memorial deserving reath laying ceremonies y foreign del-egations. what is more, Kohl had his on conception of redesigning the interior andas ale in general to carry his point against the many reservations and dots hichere plicly raised. As recalled y Christian Sttzl, the then director of the GermanHistorical Msem in berlin, It as qite rare that the national memorial old eso daringly planned and the plan implemented y the people responsile for politicallife almost independently from the mltiple voices of criticism from cltral circles,hich ere incapale of changing anything in the corse of events15.

Generally speaking there ere three conceptions of redesigning Nee wache.The rst as the simplest and meant that the ilding shold e left nchangedas a kind of historys testimony. It as difclt to accept ecase, anyay the oldinscription aot victims of militarism and fascism, as ell as the plaqe refer-ring to the unknon Soldier and the unknon Resistance Fighter needed echanged. besides, the glass hexahedron ith an eternal ame inside cased seriosreservations as it looked too tacky. The second conception involved restoration ofthe interior as designed y Tesseno, hich had alays een considered as alessin aesthetic terms. wolf Jost Siedler and Jlis Posener ere, among others, advo-cates of this idea. Hoever, in this ay Nee wache old again assme the char-

acter of a military memorial akin to a tom of the unknon Soldier, and if a reathas added it old send a message glorifying soldiers deeds. This soltion oldcase nmeros ojections not only in the Federal Replic t most likely alsoaroad. And nally, there as the third conception of restoring Tessenos interior

t replacing the plinth-altar ith a sclptre, more specically ith an enlargedsclptre y Kthe Kollitz. This as the idea advocated y chancellor Kohl ina consistent and incredily perseverant ay. In early 1992 he discssed the idea ithexperts from the German Historical Msem, then ith the representatives of the

parliamentary factions ho agreed to make Nee wache a national memorial tdid not agree on their position as to the changes to its interior. On 8 Octoer 1992a model of the conversion in Tessenos style as presented in the German Histori-cal Msem, and in Decemer 1992 Tessenos interior ith the sclptre y KtheKollitz inside as initially accepted. On 27 Janary 1993 and nder pressre ythe chancellor the government made a decision to redesign Nee wache. The factcame ot in March 1993 dring the proceedings of the dget committee in the bn-destag and it cased nearly nanimos discontent from the parliamentary factions,hich felt offended y having een ignored in the deate aot the central nationalmemorial for the nied contry. The idea itself hoever as not qestioned. On 10

15 Ch. Stlzl,Die Neue Wache, in: M. Sabrow (hg.),Erinnerungsorte der DDR, Mnchen 2009, p. 170.


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March 1993 the SPD faction from the opposition smitted a motion regarding bn-destags spport for the governmental project concerning the creation of a centralmemorial ith a designation that the isse is not exclsively a matter of exective

athorities, and that parliament shold also formlate its opinion and the hole is-se shold e smitted for a plic deate. The Social Democrats demanded fromthe government a detailed jstication for the project of converting Nee wache intoa national memorial, ith a presentation in the bndestag of different versions forthe interior design, and a deate on ho to represent all the categories of victims ithan namigos sggestion of adopting the formla from the speech y presidentweizscker16. An hor-long deate as held in the bndestag on 14 May 199317.The qestion of the main inscription and hether or not additional plaqes shold

e installed and ith hat inscriptions as not decided. In the smmer and atmndisptes contined arond the qestion hile at the same time the reconstrctionork on the interior of the ilding as carried on. Nee wache as nveiled on 14

Novemer, that is on the National Day of Morning (Volkstraertag)18 and since thenit has een fnctioning nder the name of central national memorial to the victimsof ar and tyranny (Zentrale Gedenksttte der bndesreplik Detschland fr dieOpfer von Krieg nd Gealtherrschaft).

Eventally in 1993 noody qestioned the creation of the central memorial tothe victims and sing for this prpose the ilding in unter den Linden. There asa general consenss that a memorial as needed and that Nee wache as perfectlysitale for that prpose. In the 1980s sch a memorial in bonn cased sstantial

dots, there as even a dose of mockery that the chancellor jst anted to nda place for reath laying ceremonies. No this as asent. If so the iggest casefor discontent as the procedre applied y Kohl, ho took the matter in his onhands y skipping the competition for the interior design, making qick decisionsand indeed presenting others ith the accomplished fact. The political parties feltoffended, the intellectals even more so t essentially it as the only method foran effective implementation of the project. The project itself did not reqire a lot ofork. On the otside it looked the same as dring the GDR times. Only the armygard disappeared ecase there ere fears of military associations contradictoryto the pacist message of the interior. This reqirement as also issed y the fam-ily of Kthe Kollitz, hom chancellor Kohl himself asked for permission to sethe sclptre. In the parliamentary deate Konrad wei (bndnis 90/Die Grnen)strongly rejected the army gard referring to the vies held y the sclptress andthere ere no ojections. For the same reason the states of Scharnhorst and blohich originally anked the front of Nee wache ere not reinstated. They erelocated on the other side of unter den Linden, hat looks slightly pecliar and still

16 Antrag der Fraktion der SPD. Zentrale Gedenksttte des bndes, Detscher bndestag. 12. wahl-periode. Drcksache 12/4536. 10.03.93.

17 Detscher bndestag. 12.wahlperiode. 159. Sitzng. 14 May 1993, p. 13445-13457.18 E. Kohl,Erinnerungen 1990-1994, Mnchen 2007, p. 529-530.


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voices are heard to retrn to the old design y Schinkel. behind the states at somedistance the states of blcher, York and Gneisena ere sitated in a sqare amongtrees and invisile from the street. All the states retrned to places not too far aay

from Nee wache t they are divided from it y the ide thoroghfare of unter denLinden and they no longer create a commemorative holeness.The restoration of Tessenos featres in the interior did not case reservations.

The glass dome over the ocls as taken don, the mosaic oor as restored asell as the side alls and the glass lock ith the eternal ame as removed. Fromthe GDR design the rns ith ashes of the nknon soldier and nknon resist-ance ghter ere retained t their location as not marked. The altar-like lock yTesseno as not restored, althogh it had its defenders ho ere for its restoration.Reinhard Koselleck claimed that the form of a lock (oviosly ithot the reath)as ideally consonant ith the nimaginale hman losses dring world war II19.Anyay, there is a qite idespread opinion that in case of commemorating victimsof genocide reaching for more astract forms rather than realistic sclptres seemsmore appropriate. After all, Nee wache as to commemorate ar victims and nota fallen soldier. Ths, everything appeared to provide argments for the choice ofan astract form, hoever as oserved y Christoph Sttzl, the restored lock yTesseno cold case in a contemporary vieer ndesired associations ith the oldorship of the fallen. Dring the parliamentary deate on the matter Peter Conradi,a social democrat and wolfgang Lder, a lieral ojected to the idea of restoringthe lock. Chancellor Kohl shared their vies and anyay, he had his on idea of

designing the interior. when in 1988 he as visiting an exhiition in the GermanHistorical Msem he as enchanted y a small sclptre y Kollitz portrayinga mother holding in her arms her dead son. It reminded him of his mothers grief atthe nes of his older rothers death on the frontline. He as determined to have anenlarged replica of the sclptre placed inside Nee wache. And he did it.

***

Althogh noody qestioned the high artistic qality of the sclptre y Koll -itz, not everyody as convinced that its enlarged replica shold e placed in

Nee wache. Dring the deate in the bndestag Kohl made a speech careflly

prepared in defence of his conception. First of all, he reassred that the sclptre didnot have a religios character and that this as conrmed y some notes from theartists diary. Thogh the denial of the ovios motif of the Piet seemed strange asthe aim as to get as far as possile from Christian symolism. The prolem asthat the Jeish circles had reservations toards the sclptre and that the chancellorotained the consent to install the sclptre from Ignatz bis, the Chief Rai ofthe Jeish commnity only in retrn for a solemn promise to ild a memorial ofthe Holocast in berlin. Kohl also claimed that the pain and grief, hich ere very

19 R. Koselleck,Bildverbot. Welches Totengedenken? in: G. Stlzl (hg.), op.cit., p. 200-203.


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68 Zignie Mazr

ell expressed in the sclptre, ecame a starting point for reecting in an individalmanner on the victims of ar and tyranny. The ork of art speaks of an individalfate and ths it approaches the prolem of victims in the most modern ay. Kollitz

depicted the greatest tragedy of the centry in a manner nderstandale to all con-temporary Germans throgh the prism of one persons fate.

I think that the mothers grief is an expression of something more than pain. It reminds sthat in the face of ararity and systematic extermination of people in the 20 th centry it is ordty to raise aareness of the personal hman dignity of an individal. The faith in the integrityof an individal constittes the cornerstone of all religios and philosophical traditions that orestern cltre makes references to. Speaking on ehalf of the opposition, Peter Conradi (SPD)praised the chancellors choice saying, Everyody ill nderstand the Piet. A tension ill ecreated eteen the cool, dignied, reserved space y Tesseno and the reective silent mothery Kollitz.

Reinhart Koselleck as one of the most fervent opponents of placing the sclp-tre in Nee wache and he rmly demanded to have the decision reconsidered 20.Koselleck arged that the sclptre in the symolic (Christian) sense representsthe Mother of God ith Christs ody, hich on the one hand commnicates painand grief, an on the other hand consolation and hope for resrrection and salvation.when the sclptre is interpreted in a realistic ay it shos only the pain and griefof a mother after the loss of her son fallen at ar. As he claimed, oth interpreta -tions ere nacceptale for the Jeish commnity hich does not accept Christian

symols and does not agree to have the memory aot extermination redced to thegrief of a mother after the death of her son. He ent on to point ot that in the case ofworld war II the relationship eteen mother and son does not constitte a domi-nant theme of grieving, as it as after world war I hen aot to million (Ger-man) soldiers lost their lives. It as eqally likely that a father old grieve overhis daghter killed dring an air raid, and that children old e in distress havinglost their parents. As it is, a realistic interpretation of the sclptre does not deliverhat had happened, that mothers ere eing killed as ell as the children. No matterho the sclptre is interpreted it does not encompass the memory of mass mrders,and having the choice, a sclptre y Kollitz (1932) of parents kneeling and over-

come y grief t ithot the reference to the dead ody old e etter. This kindof argmentation keeps appearing even today. It is still reminded that the Piet asa Christian symol is not appropriate to commemorate the Holocast of the Jeish

people and that it atomatically excldes non-Christian victims. Very recently, PeterReichel retrned to this isse and qestioned the jstness of the decision to place thesclptre y Kollitz inside Nee wache21.

The matter of the inscription as possily even more controversial. ChancellorKohl dring the parliamentary deate spported the idea of a short inscription placed

20 R. Koselleck, op.cit., p. 200-203.21 P. Reichel, op.cit., p.154.


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inside the ilding hich old e closely connected ith the tradition of the Na-tional Day of Morning, namely, To the victims of ar and tyranny (Den Opfernder Kriege nd der Gealtherrschaft). Peter Conradi (SPD) responded that if so the

victims of tyranny shold e placed rst and then of ar. The Christian Demo -crats fond it difclt to accept as they anted to emphasize that rst there asar and only later tyranny. In this ay the Nazi dictatorship as somehoovershadoed ith the commnist dictatorship taking rst place. Conradi, mak-ing a reference to the hge differences in the nmer of victims sggested that theinscription shold e divided into to parts, Den Opfern der Gealtherrschaf ndden Opfern der Kriege. Irrespective of this, the social democrats demanded a sepa-rate plaqe to e installed ith a fragment of the speech y president weizscker,in hich he in a detailed ay enmerated varios categories of the victims. Thesitation developed into a paradox ith the social democrats anting a text froma speech y a Christian democratic president and the Christian Democrats erestrongly against it. Ilja Seifert (PDS/Die Linke) altogether rejected the inscriptionaot the victims of ar and tyranny saying,

In this non-inding formla, Mr Chancellor, a participant of a conference in wannsee, hoas later incidentally lon p y an air raid om old e eqated ith six million Jes hohad een systematically exterminated. The commnists and social democrats, Ernst Thlmann andRdolf breitscheid, mrdered in the bchenald concentration camp old e on the same levelith Goeels and Gring, ho ere the victims of their on dictatorship. This thoght is as a-srd as commemorating the fallen from an SS division as ell in Yad Vashem.

The prolem as that the Christian Democrats precisely anted to se the am-igity of the ord victim (sacricim and victima) and to lr the fndamen-tal differences eteen the qite different categories of the fallen, mrdered and

persected. Ilja Seiferts proposal to commemorate all ho resisted tyranny casedstrong associations ith the East German commemoration and had no chance ofgaining spport in the bndestag. Anyay, in the past of Nee wache not only thenknon resistance ghter as commemorated t also the nknon soldier,thogh ith separate plaqes. Hoever, in 1993 the tendency to homogenize victimsdid not meet ith sch flmination as it as dring the deate in 1986 on the centralmemorial. It did not help mch that Reinhardt Koselleck openly rote aot thehypocrisy preserved in the formla aot the victims of ar and tyranny. wolf-gang Krse assessed that in Nee wache the glorifying orship of the fallen heroesas replaced y a foggy orship of victims hich oliterated everything mch morethan the GDR orship of victims of militarism and fascism22. Nevertheless,Peter Reichel dre attention to the fact that althogh the inscription placed inside

Nee wache (Den Opfern der Kriege nd der Gealtherrschaft) does level thedifferences eteen different categories of victims, this is at least partially claried

22 w. Krse, op.cit., p. 431.


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y the plaqe positioned otside to the right of the entrance to the ilding23. Indeed,despite the initial deance of Kohl and the right-ing parties, the otside plaqe car-ried a text hich seemed to make reference to the cataloge of victims enmerated

in president weizsckers speech. A visitor to Nee wache hen entering the ild-ing rst enconters that register of victims, then inside sees the inscription aotthe victims of ar and tyranny, and nally the standing ehind the inscriptionsclptre y Kthe Kollitz.

The text of the inscription on the plaqe otside the entrance only partially drepon weizsckers speech, and in fact it constitted a step ackards in the processof reckoning ith the past24. weizscker said that the calamities started in 1933 andnot only after 1945 folloing the nconditional srrender of Germany, and he didnot hesitate to se the phrase German concentration camp. Yet, the perpetratorsere not indicated in the plaqe. One can infer ho they ere from the ord arand tyranny, thogh this is made difclt y the lack of a chronological frame(no dates). The clprit is more legile only hen the totalitarian dictatorship after1945 is mentioned (the only date on the plaqe). Even the ord Nazism does notoccr and only commnism as almost named. Something rong has happened tit is not knon hen and on hose initiative. The empty space for the clprit has to

e lled ot y imagination since one cannot cont on factal knoledge. Hoever,hat ill happen in several years? The victims seem to say more aot it althoghit is not so certain. They ere enmerated in the folloing order: nations hichsffered ecase of ar, the fallen in the to orld ars, the innocent ho lost

their lives as a reslt of ar in their homeland, in prisoner-of-ar camps and dr-ing explsion, millions of mrdered Jes, mrdered Sinti and Roma, those killedecase of their ackgrond, homosexality or illness, those ho had to die ecaseof their religion or vies, omen and men ho ere persected and mrdered e-case they ojected to dictatorship after 1945. The victims ecame completely andsystematically mixed; the Jes, Sinti and Roma fond themselves next to the vic-tims (of corse German) of explsion and the fallen that is as one can sppose

23 P. Reichel, op.cit., p. 155.24 The text on the plaqe in German reads ith the folloing ords (lines are divided y a slash):

Die Nee wache ist der Ort der Erinnerng/nd des Gedenkens an die Opfer / von Krieg nd Galt-herrschaft . / wir gedenken / der Vlker, die drch Krieg gelitten haen / wir gedenken ihrer brger, dieverfolgt rden / nd ihr Leen verloren / wir gedenken der Gefallenen der weltkriege / wir Gedenkender unschldigen / die drch Krieg nd Folgen des Krieges / in der Heimat, die in Gefangenschaft nd/ ei der Vertreing ms Leen gekommen sind / wir gedenken aller, die mgeracht rden / egenihrer Astammng, ihrer Homosexalitt / oder egen Krankheit nd Schche / wir gedenken allerermordeten, deren Recht af / Leen gelegnet rde / wir gedenken der Menschen / die steren ms -sten m ihrer religisen oder / politischen erzegngen illen / wir gedenken aller / die Opfer derGealtherrschaft rden / nd nschldig den Tod fanden / wir gedenken der Fraen nd Mnner/dieim widerstand gegen die Gealtherrschaft / ihr Leen opferten / wir ehren alle, die eher den Tod hin-

nahmen / als ihr Geissen z egen / wir gedenken der Fraen nd Mnner / die verfolgt nd ermordetrden / eil sie sich totalitrer Diktatr nach 1945 / idersetzt haen.


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the soldiers of the wehrmacht. weizscker also mentioned the Poles and the Sovietcitizens t there as not enogh space on the plaqe for them.

From the plaqe and the inscription placed in front of the sclptre, as ell as

from the sclptre itself an intriging image of the past emerges. On the one hand,e have the ar and tyranny that e have no information aot (apart from thetotalitarian dictatorship after 1945), and on the other hand, e have the vast catego-ry of victims in hich the dotless clprits are hidden (e.g., wehrmacht soldiers).On the one hand, e have the anonymos forces and, on the other hand the individ-al fate over hich a mother is grieving holding in her arms her killed son. One canidentify the victims, as ell as the perpetrators according to ones on estimation

ecase niversal victim orship opens a ide scope for imagination. Hoever, itall lrs and oliterates the historical reality and constittes a constrct meant to etilized y the German collective memory. According to bill Niven, chancellor Kohl

primarily anted to aate the moral dimension of German-Jeish relations andeaken their perception throgh the prism of the victim-clprit relations, as ell asto mark the presence of Germans as innocent victims comparale to Jeish vic-tims. As pointed ot y Niven, from the memorial emerges an otline of a ne canonof the German collective memory hich encompasses the experience of Nazism andcommnism, inclding also the hman losses sffered dring the ar especially deto air raids and relocation. The canon aims at integrating German society freshlyinclding to different commnities the west and East German. Considering theconicts eteen East and west Germans after the renication, this commemora-

tive policy oviosly aimed at the reconciliation of Germans not only ith their onhistory t also ith one another. In rief it as the commemorative policy meant toserve the prpose of national reconciliation (b. Niven)25.

The present Nee wache can indeed evoke mixed feelings. For certain it is notexclsively a memorial to fallen German soldiers, victims of explsion and killedin allied air raids, as it as demanded in the 1980s. It is also not a memorial ex-clsively to German victims. It does not contain any kind of symolism connectedith the fallen orship and more so ith the glorication of soldiers deeds. Thesclptre y Kthe Kollitz irrespective of ho it is interpreted, for certain hasnothing in common ith the orship of the fallen. Anyay, from the aesthetic pointof vie neither the ilding of Nee wache, nor its interior decor cases reservation.There is nothing tacky aot it and everything is done in good taste. Still, it is alsonot a memorial that is clear and namigos acconting for the Nazi, as ell as forthe commnist past. It is more a memorial hich represents escaping in the realmof niversal victim orship, hich in many respects reaks any correspondencesith historical reality t hich provides a cover for commemorating variosly n-derstood German victims. Natrally, all the nderstatements and concealments can

25 b.Niven,Introduction: German Victimhood at the Turn of the Millenium, in: b.Niven (ed.), Ger-mans as Victims. Remembering the Past in the Contemporary Germany, Ne York 2006, p. 6.


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seem striking and case jstied ojections. Hoever, one has to ojectively ad-mit that after world war II, the German nation had to face the mch more difclt

prolem of commemorating their hman losses than after world war I. The desire

to commemorate these losses is completely nderstandale t ho is it possile toavoid relativising the German responsiility and ptting the lame on all the peopleho foght against the Third Reich? Despite everything, this kind of commemora-tion shold not reslt in lrring the historical context and evading a clear anser tothe qestion, ho made the soldiers to e killed, civilians die nder air raid omsand ho is responsile for the mass relocation of German people.

Documents

ZBIGNIEW MAZUR: Neue Wache (1818-1993)