Hamburger Ehrenmal für die Gefallenen beider Weltkriege, War memorial in Hamburg-Altstadt, Germany
The Hamburger Ehrenmal for the fallen of both World Wars is a limestone monument about 21 meters tall with a relief sculpture by Ernst Barlach located in Hamburg's old town. One side shows a grieving mother with her child, while the other side carries an inscription honoring those who died in the first conflict.
The memorial was built in 1930 to honor 40,000 soldiers from Hamburg who died in World War I. After the second conflict ended, it was expanded to include additional casualties and the damaged relief sculpture was reconstructed by stonemason Friedrich Bursch.
The mother and child relief speaks to loss and remembrance for people in Hamburg, standing as a quiet counterpoint to the busy streets nearby. The sculpture invites visitors to pause and reflect on the weight of those remembered.
The memorial sits near Rathausmarkt square and is easy to reach on foot, with good accessibility for people with mobility limitations. Plan for about 15 minutes to take in the relief sculpture and inscriptions at a comfortable pace.
The artwork was removed in 1938 during the Nazi period and classified as degenerate art, making it a rare witness to artistic censorship of that era. Its later reconstruction shows how Hamburg deliberately reconnected with its artistic heritage.
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