Memorial for the victims of war

Step closer to this columned temple and look inside. It is a moving memorial in remembrance of war victims . The striking statue within depicts a powerless mother holding her dead son in her arms. The monument was first built to honor those who perished in the Napoleonic Wars, and later, it commemorated those lost in the First World War. In 1960, during the GDR era, an eternal flame was lit in tribute to the victims of fascism and militarism. In 1969, the remains of an unknown soldier and a nameless concentration camp prisoner were added, along with soil collected from both battlefields and concentration camps. Finally, in 1993, the statue “Mother with her Dead Son” by Käthe Kollwitz was placed alone at the center of this dimly lit, empty room, illuminated only by a skylight. It stands as a poignant symbol of the victims of war and tyranny. Let us hope that nothing will ever need to be added to this memorial again.