Soldiers' Memorial
June 14, 2007
The soldier's memorial will be a narrow structure encased in bronze. Its surface will be embossed to depict its significance, said Munich architect Andreas Meck.
"Half of an identity disk is portrayed, which represents those who died in service for the Bundeswehr," said Meck, who designed the winning concept. Every soldier in service wears these oval-shaped disks. When he or she dies, half of the disk is broken off and serves as a record of death.
The soldier's memorial, 41 meters (45 yards) long and 10 meters (11 yards) high, will be divided. There will be a larger, more open space, as well as a smaller, blackened room. The latter will only be lit by an opening in the ceiling. A monolith will serve as a place for visitors to lay flowers and wreaths.
Meck's concept will allow for both private and state or public mourning. A sliding wall will make the memorial accessible from the ministry side and for civilians from the street. The structure will bear the inscription: "Our Bundeswehr's Dead -- For Peace, Justice and Freedom."
The project costs are estimated at three million euros ($4 million) and will be completed in mid-2008.
A common memorial was overdue
Bundeswehr Inspector General Wolfgang Schneiderhan said Meck's concept moved and appealed to him.
According to Schneiderhan, building this central memorial was "not just appropriate, but overdue." Up to now, the army, navy and air force each commemorate their fallen soldiers separately.
The idea for a central memorial came to Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung when he visited the Afghan capital Kabul in 2005. Germans soldiers there had erected their own memorial for their fallen comrades.
Since then, Jung has been keen on such a structure in Germany.
All parliamentarians should see the memorial
Since the Bundeswehr was founded in May 1955, over 2,600 members of the armed forces have died in duty, for example, in aircraft crashes or accidents during maneuvers.
To date, 69 soldiers have fallen abroad -- the most recent were three soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan last month.
Several politicians would like to see the memorial erected near the Bundestag due to its central importance.
"It is necessary that everyone in parliament who decides about foreign deployments sees this memorial in order to be aware of how large their personal responsibility is," said Guido Westerwelle, head of the opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP).
But Jung, a member of the ruling coalition partner Christian Democratic Union (CDU), wants the structure to stand within the ministry's premises in Berlin.