Resistance Memorials in Berlin

Fisheye view of Herbert Baum Group memorial.

Description (in English) on the momument itself: It was on this site, the Lustgarten, during the war, May 18, 1942, that members of the antifascist resistance groups associated with Herbert Baum attempted to burn down the slanderous Nazi-propaganda exhibition called "Soviet Paradise." The attempt was a protest against the war and the terror of the National Socialist regime. More than thirty young men and women involved in this action were executed between 1942 and 1943, most of them guillotined at the Berlin-Plötzensee prison. On May 28 and 29, 1942, the Gestapo rounded up 500 Jews, whom were victimised in further nazi reprisal. The present memorial, designed by the sculptor Jürgen Raue, was commissioned by the city council of East Berlin in 1981 without providing historical information on the act of resistance that happened here. This memorial thus documents the brave act of resistance in 1942, the conception of history in 1981, and our continuous remembrance of resistance to the Nazis.

Photo credit: Florida Center for Instructional Technology

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2005.