The Neue Wache Controversy and Käthe Kollwitz: Use and Misuse of German Memory Politics before and after Reunification

The historical significance of Käthe Kollwitz’s work was not lost during the 40 years of division, as evidenced by the fact that a small piece of her legacy has remained at the center of debates in German memory politics even after reunification. This occurred in 1993, when the federal government built the ‘Zentrale Gedenkstätte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland für die Opfer von Krieg und Gewaltherrschaft(Central Memorials for the Victims of War and Tyranny)’ at Neue Wache in Berlin and installed an enlarged replica of Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture <Pietà(or Mother with Dead Son)> without much public consultation or deliberation. The controversy surrounding the construction of the ‘Central Memorial’ can be divided into three main issues. These are the evolution of Neue Wache and commemorating the fallen, the ambiguity of the “victims,” and the appropriateness of the installation of the ‘Pietà.’ This article briefly examines the first two issues, which have been explored in greater detail in the literature, before focusing on the third, which has received less attention. This article raises the following questions: what did the actors pushing for the construction of the ‘Central Memorial’ at Neue Wache want to remember or forget by displaying an object that did not fit into the neoclassical architecture, and according to what needs was the artistic achievement of Käthe Kollwitz used and misused in the German memory politics before and after reunification?