The Kaiser's men’s medals

[TabsTabs1964]

The monument survived with little damage to World War II and the Battle of Berlin. However, in the winter of 1949/50 the SED had the monument removed to its base.




The demolition had purely political motives, as happened shortly afterwards with the Berlin Palace.
The base of the monument in Schloßfreiheit is a listed building.






January 1950


First the blowtorch cuts the bronze claws, then the crane will remove the lion statue....

The four lions that stood at the base of the monument still exist, as they were moved in groups of two in front of the lions' house at the Berlin Zoo.
With the exception of one of the eagles of Gaul Augusta, the remaining plastic and architectural parts of the monument were destroyed.





Next will be the history of the palace in front of the national monument...

[Chopperman]

Very well done, Santi. Thank you.
I also like the picture of your Centenary postcard and medals.

[VtwinVince]

This wanton, politicised destruction of history should serve as a warning to our present extremist political class, and their penchant for destroying monuments, and thus, history. If you read German, I highly recommend Abschied von Preussen, all about the destruction of Prussian culture postwar. The worst example of this was the Stadtschloss, but I don't want to steal your thunder......