Ernst-Thälmann-Monument

Ernst-Thälmann-Monument

Ernst-Thälmann-Monument created 1981-1986 by Lev Kerbel in Ernst-Thälmann-Park, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944) was a German Communist party leader. The Nazis imprisoned him in 1933 and shot him at Buchenwald in 1944. Although Thälmann never lived to see the end of World War II, the SED (the GDR's founding and ruling party) coopted his biography and image, immortalizing him as part of the nation's founding mythology. This monument was unveiled as a gift to the citizens to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Thälmann's birth in Ernst-Thälmann-Park. The monument was controversial because the GDR's government chose a Soviet sculptor and demolished historically protected gasworks to ensure a perfect view of the monument in the park. East Berliners resented its grandiosity and gave it unflattering nicknames. Although smaller Thälmann monuments were removed after the GDR's collapse, this statue still stands. However, plaques with Communist slogans have been removed from its base.

Lev Kerbel, sculptor

Max Schwalbe, photographer

Wikimedia Commons

1986

Photograph: May 9, 2021

Creative Commons

Bronze Sculpture

46 ft.