Known in English as The New Guardhouse, Neue Wache has commemorated victims of war since its construction in 1818: however, which war or victims has changed as Germany has changed, from defeating Napolean through post-World War II German reunification. Now the central memorial site for victims of war and tyranny, perhaps the only definitive statement is that it has always been a memorial.
Käthe Kollwitz’s Pietà
Käthe Kollwitz was a German artist and sculptor whose work often focused on grief and social criticism. In 1914, her younger son Peter was killed in Belgium just months in World War I, her grief reflected in her political views and works of art.
Pietà (Mother with dead Son) may represent her inability to protect her son as she would have when he was a child and unable to represent himself, and the sadness that he is never returning.
[Unfortunately and ironically, her grandson Peter also died in war, this time World War II.]
The Neue Wache sculpture is a copy, four times the size of the original. As you enter, you’re immediately aware of – overwhelmed? – by the silence and solemnity, unsure of what to do. You first admire the sculpture from a distance, unsure of whether you can step down onto the tile or brick before noticing a handicap ramp. You’re still tentative, wanting to respect the site but eventually you do walk down and take a closer look.
Only one other person was visiting on this Wednesday morning, and the silence and solitude projected surprises you since it is located in Central Berlin not too far from Unter den Linden. I did not visit the underground room with contains remains of an unknown soldier and resistance fighter as well as dirt from battlefields and concentration camps.
Visiting
Opening Hours: every day from 10am to 6pm
Entrance is free
