Denkmal für die Potsdamer Demokratiebewegung im Herbst 1989 - Potsdam, BB, D
N 52° 23.978 E 013° 02.836
33U E 367147 N 5807282
Democracy movement 1989 memorial on the Potsdam Luisenplatz.
Waymark Code: WM1642B
Location: Brandenburg, Germany
Date Posted: 04/30/2022
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November 4, 1989 - Monument to the Potsdam democracy movement in autumn 1989
For the implementation of the "Monument to the Potsdam Democracy Movement in Autumn 1989", a jury selected the design by the artist Mikos Meininger, who has his studio in the Potsdam Kunsthaus sans titre. The design, which will be realized on Luisenplatz, was presented on March 25th Introduced to the public in 2020.
The memorial consists of meter-long steel plates embedded in the ground, which are arranged in the shape of the digits of the historical date November 4, 1989. On this day, the largest demonstration in Potsdam at the time of reunification took place on Luisenplatz, then Platz der Nations, with around 20,000 people.
The demands and slogans of the time can be seen in capital letters on the steel plates. The lettering on the banners is coated with a phosphorescent plastic that makes them glow at dusk and appear like a hieroglyphic text panel. Citizens who demonstrated on that historic day were asked to provide their shoeprints and thus become part of the memorial. The shoe prints are etched into the surface of the material, giving the feeling of a tightly packed crowd.
Direct participation in the culture of remembrance is also possible because the citizens were able to leave behind their personal stories of the Peaceful Revolution. It is recorded on a separate website where it can be read and heard. In this way, the monument interacts with people and encourages the viewer to think further. For the realization of the monument, for which a financial volume of 120,000 euros is available, Mikos Meininger worked together with the Potsdam architect Frédéric Urban and the graphic designer Tuulia Faber.
The public was involved in the process of creation. The board of sans titre e.V. supported the project. The aim is to show the significance of November 4th, 2089 beyond this day. “To this day and more than ever, the Peaceful Revolution shows us that democracy needs courageous democrats. As a society, we only have as much freedom and justice as we fight for every day," said Potsdam Mayor Mike Schubert at a rally on November 4, 2019 on Luisenplatz. The monument was inaugurated on November 4, 2020.
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