Denkmal mit den sterbenden Löwen, War memorial in Bochum, Germany
The Memorial with the Dying Lions is a stone monument in Bochum depicting a large lion struck by an arrow on its right side. The figure faces toward France and displays an expression of agony.
The memorial was unveiled on May 13, 1928, and honors fallen soldiers from Bochum in World War I. It was funded through donations totaling 65,000 Reichsmarks and created as an expression of mourning and remembrance.
The monument sits on Königsallee next to Schiller School and attracts visitors drawn to its emotional image of a dying lion. The inscription reflects how one generation tried to frame their defeat as a form of inner strength.
The memorial is located directly next to Schiller School on Königsallee and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors can read both the original inscription and a bronze plaque added in 1990 beside it.
On Volkstrauertag 1983, left-wing youth groups (SDAJ, Die Falken) and union activists from IG Metall and ÖTV chiselled part of the inscription away before police stopped them; the WAZ headlined its report "Nicht mehr unbesiegt". Earlier attempts to persuade the city to demolish the memorial had failed.
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