Haven’t you wondered why the Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918 stands here? It commemorates 1370 students. It also honors 12 professors and 14 employees. They died “for Germany’s existence and honor in the World War.”
This Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918 features a reclining lion. The lion is a grave guard on the base. The base lists the names of the fallen. The Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918 is a powerful symbol.
The lion was part of a larger memorial. It was meant to honor university members. They fell in World War I. August Gaul designed the limestone sculpture. He was a well-known animal sculptor. Max Esser, his student, finished the lion after Gaul’s death.
Private individuals conceived and financed the Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918. In 1924, it was unveiled in the Augusteum’s arcade. The base was destroyed in 1968. This happened when the Augusteum was blown up. Fortunately, the lion sculpture was rescued. It stood on Sachsenplatz for several years. Wind and weather caused its poor condition today.
Leipzig University kept careful records. These were about the fallen students. During the war, the university created a card index. It contained military biographical information.
In 1923, Rector Georg Steindorff dedicated the Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918. He spoke these words at the Augusteum: “Now this monument is ours. We bow in deep mourning to the spirits. Their memory is consecrated to this monument. As Rector, I pledge. I make this solemn vow for all who hold this high office. They will come after me at our university. We will always protect it. It shall be a sanctuary to us. It shall be a memorial. It will bear witness to posterity for all time. It tells of the heroic sacrifice. Our colleagues, our fellow students and our officials made this sacrifice. They did it for the Fatherland in the World War. Whoever comes through the gates into this hall shall turn to this sacred site. They will be filled with fervent gratitude. They will be grateful for what those, whose names are inscribed here, gave for the Fatherland and for us all. May the monument also be a reminder to the living. May they do the same as the dead.”
Steindorff continued with an emotional appeal: “Fellow students, show all of you, man for man, that you are worthy of the sacrifice of the fallen. May you always be ready to do the same as they did. But the sacrifice you should make, we all wish, should not be life. Another sacrifice, no less great, will be demanded of you. It is dedicated work and the strictest fulfillment of duty. Bring this sacrifice, our academic youth. Then you will give your best to our people. Then you will help achieve what those heroes could not achieve: to create a new flowering of our Fatherland. If you succeed in this, then the sacrifice of our dead will not have been in vain.”
The Kriegerdenkmal 1914-1918 serves as a powerful reminder. It stands as a reminder of sacrifice. It is a call to duty and a symbol of hope. It also serves as a symbol of remembrance. It urges us to strive for a better future.