Trümmerfrau memorial, Memorial statue in Volkspark Hasenheide, Germany
The Trümmerfrau memorial is a limestone statue in Volkspark Hasenheide showing a woman sitting on brick rubble and holding a hammer. The sculpture stands at the base of Rixdorfer Hill near Graefestraße.
Sculptor Katharina Szelinski-Singer created the memorial between 1954 and 1955 as her first public commission after art school. The 1955 inauguration brought together 88 former rubble women and Berlin's Mayor Otto Suhr to honor the reconstruction work.
The memorial honors women who cleared debris and salvaged materials from Berlin streets after World War II. Their work shaped how the city looked and felt during reconstruction.
The memorial is easily accessible in Volkspark Hasenheide and can be reached on foot from nearby Graefestraße. The statue is open year-round and free to visit at any time.
The statue underwent restoration in 1986 due to repeated vandalism, revealing how the figure stirred strong feelings in the city. This conservation work ensured the memorial could continue telling its story to new generations.
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