War memorial

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A war memorial or an honour mark is a monument, which was established for memory of pleased soldiers.

War memorial 1870/71 in the castle

human being and soldier picture of the war memorials

of war devising marks, which do not only remind of field gentlemen or officers, but also to simple soldiers, developed only in the modern times, more exactly since the French revolution and the coalition wars. At that time warfare was radicalized by the introduction of the compulsory military service and nationalized at the same time. For the first time the broad mass of the peoples was affected by the war; for over more than 15 years the dragging on coalition wars a so far inconceivable number of soldiers was mobilized. The military service system favoured inconsiderate warfare with enormous losses, up to the exhaustion of all involved ones. The ideals of the French revolution reflected themselves thus also in the first mention of the names of simple soldiers on Gedenktafeln and monuments; „the citizen “had become „a soldier “.

the function of a war memorial is various. It is the members trösten, by the death of their used it a sense lends, it is the survivors on the model of the victims to obligate and the state and its ideals to represent.

therefore gave it around the list of war devising marks also frequently conflicts. Different social groups tried with the monument to implement their interpretation of the war or the society. About whether now the mourning should be the center of attention around the dead ones or rather hero admiration (sometimes with expression of the future will to the revenge). Conclusions on it are sometimes from the dedication text of the monument to seen, the z. B. can „the municipality X think of in mourning their dead ones of the war read… “or also „our courageous heroes of the world war… /proves you its victim with dignity “, and. A.

In France there was controversy after the First World War frequently whether one should establish the war memorial on the cemetery or on the town hall square. This was a continuation of the conflicts between church and state in the third republic.

the typical war memorial in Germany

in Germany one finds above all war devising marks for first (1914 - 18) or for the Second World War (1939 - 45), whereby a monument of the First World War was very often extended by additional boards to a memory place to the Second World War. War devising marks for the French-German war are clearly rarer 1870/71. The oldest war devising marks in the today's sense might represent some Gedenktafeln from the 1830er years for inhabitants pleased in the napoleonischen wars. One finds these z. B. in Bavarian churches.

on many war memorials the pleasures and missed one of a place or the political municipality are in particular called - that are the war memorials in the sense of word. On the other hand places a Obelisk, Findling etc. actually no war memorial, if on it a dedication text without denomination of the pleasures is to be only found.

pleasure memory in German large cities

here is to be observed that with increasing size of the municipality (city) the probability sinks that such a name monument is present: while nearly in each village in Germany today still of the pleasures of the world wars one reminds, one finds a such total monument in practically no large city (in place of monuments for some few, above all South German cities such as Nuremberg, Stuttgart or peppering castle „1914-1918-Gedenkbücher were published “; the probably most extensive German large city total monument was in the Second World War damaged and no more in the origin condition manufactured Munich war memorial with 13.000 names. Of Bremen the honour mark „Altmann height “might be the largest still existing name monument in Germany).

Apart from political reservations into the 1920er the question of cost already opposed years and/or one shrank from the work expended for the determination of the many names in larger municipalities of the establishment of monuments. This all the more applies to monuments of the pleasures 2. World war. Monuments for pleasures of this last war are in German municipalities off approx. To find 10,000 inhabitants only rarely, and/or. only one part of the which are applicable names on some church monuments is held.

monuments of the First World War in other countries

Maxey sur Meuse (F)

kath. Parish church, Clausen/Südwestpfalz (D)

bomb victim monument, Poplar, London (GB)

tower of the old St.Quentin church as war victim monument, Quaregnon (B)

in the war memorials found „classical “warfare between national states with „people armies “an expression; a certain height and probably at the same time to terminator point of this historical phase the First World War represented:

• In France practically surface covering monuments were established; in higher measure than in Germany even in larger municipalities (cities) partly very extensive intending places were created, very often in the form of a stone monument (wall, Obelisk) at central place.
• In the German Reich the same applied with restrictions; however contrary to France less remarkable projects were carried out (more church intending boards and/or. Monuments on church cemeteries as in France).

• further are countries such as Great Britain, Italy and states in the area of the earlier Danube monarchy (Austria, Tschechien, Slowakei, Hungary, south polarize (?)) to call. One finds today still far away war memorials for the First World War also there - particularly within the rural range.

Briefly: In practically all participating states of this war monuments for the First World War belong to the landscape.

information content and condition of old monuments

today still are to be inferred from the monument inscriptions much information. Here is above all the collection of indications (surname, further data such as days of death etc.) for genealogische, heimatkundliche and the like To call purposes. In addition monument copies can serve, because many monuments are attacked of the tooth of the time will be strongly and soon illegible.

after the Second World War: hardly new monuments

in this width are not to be found monuments for the Second World War to no more. Which has different reasons: for instance the still much stronger politicalization and radicalization in and after the Second World War. The number of the civilian victims exceeded those the military for the first time by far (see dead ones in the Second World War).

cemetery political circulations the establishment of certain memory marks prevent (example: SBZ/GDR) apart from the fact innumerable older monuments became or umgewidmet geschleift after 1945, z. B. in the former German east areas after the escape and driving of the Germans out). Above all however the brutal and criminal dimensions of this Second World War entailed a large exhaustion and blunting of the societies - the nationalism and political Fanatismus had almost completely ruined Europe. The largest honour marks for the pleasures of the Second World War are the naval honour mark in Laboe with Kiel (however already established for the WK I and then extended in its meaning content) and the Soviet honour mark in Berlin - Treptower park. The honour mark of the army modest against it is on the fortress honour broad stone over Koblenz on the Rhine, the largest garrison of Germany. It corresponds to the style of the monuments however completely after the First World War. The central honour mark of the Air Force is at the location of the officer school of the Air Force on the air base of the Air Force in prince-field-bridges.

war memorials after the Second World War in other countries

Russia

“nut/mother homeland” in Wolgograd

Soviet monumental plastics “nut/mother homeland” in Wolgograd reminds of the involving heavy losses battle of Stalingrad 1942/43.

the USA

the motive for soldier of the United States navy Corps was been based to Memorial of 1954 on the national cemetery in Arlington on an admission made by the war correspondent Joe Rosenthal 1945 during the fighting on the Pacific island Iwo Jima. It shows the Hissung of the American flag on the Suribachi, the highest collection of the island. The scene was not placed behind, how often is maintained, what the photographs of another war correspondent made at the same time occupy. However it concerned the second Flaggenhissung on Suribachi, in which the flag gehisste first was replaced by a larger (and therefore better visible). That the photo shared survive-large monument consolidates the Komosition of the group of figures again and stands clearly in the Tradtion the hero admiration.

On the other hand the Viet Nam of veteran has Memorial in Washington, D.C. a clear memorial character. The monument sketched by the architecture student Maya Ying Lin decreases/goes back to the initiative of the Viet Nam veteran January Scruggs and 1982 was inaugurated. A wall from black polished Mamor lists in the order of death or the missing message without comment over 58.000 names. The accusing character called controversies the too further formative additions led out.

criticism at war memorials

already in the Kaiser era provoked the monument cult Satrie and criticism. Thus “the Zwickauer” demanded 1906 monuments for the defeats in the Simplicissimus:

Why only always do victories celebrate?

That makes abroad bad blood;

And jetzo where the skies bleiern,

is caution doubly well. (...)

“Target about Begas hunger suffer,

because none dies hero death? “

Thus one heard ask with yards.

There a secret advice meant:

“Perpetuating we the defeats,

how in former times one did the victories! (...) “

The motive of the Iwo Jima group of soldiers of the monument of Arlington was processed critically 1968 by the US-American artist Edward Kienholz to a “transportable war memorial” that the thought of hero monuments ad absurdum leads.

the new picture of the war in the society

the war as „means of the policy “was already discredited after the First World War strongly; a remaining did the further technological and political development after 1945 on the one hand to the threatening atomic war. The military conflict delivering between like never before high-prepared main powers began to become increasingly inconceivable. The distinction between „soldier “and „civilian “lost slowly each meaning. In a large argument foreseeable only more would be a small fraction of all victims soldiers. As consequence of it on the other hand so-called dominate low intensity conflicts at the periphery, „asymmetrical “forms of military conflict with flowing transitions to terrorism and irregular crime since 1945.

literature

• Lurz, Meinhold: War memorials in Germany. (6 volumes), Heidelberg 1985-1987
• Koselleck, pure-hard: War devising marks as identity donations of the survivors. In Odo Marquart, Karl-Heinz Stierle (Hrsg.): Identity. Munich 1979
• Koselleck, Reinhardt/Jeismann, Michael (Hrsg.): The political dead cult. War memorials in the modern trend. Munich 1994.

Web on the left of

Commons: War devising marks - pictures, videos and/or audio files

• veterans' memorial side
• of war memorials in France
• war memorials in Germany
• German honour marks
• historical interpretation of the war devising marks
• “Sites OF MEMORY” collection of war memorials; above all region Tübingen/Stuttgart
• Susanne Behrenbeck: Hero cult or peace reminder? War devising marks after both world wars (from 1989)
• thinking marks in the Südwestpfalz
• Viet Nam Memorial Monument]