Silent stones whisper stories of loss. Here, before the Kriegerehrenmal für die Gefallenen des 1. Weltkriegs Plaque, we remember Bremen’s fallen. This memorial honors those who died in World War I. It also commemorates members of the Division Gerstenberg and Freikorps Caspari. They lost their lives fighting the Bremen Soviet Republic.
In 1933, the Nazi-influenced Senate decided to create this memorial. They commissioned Bremen sculptor Ernst Gorsemann and architect Heinrich Wiepking-Jürgensmann. Gorsemann, a WWI veteran with Nazi sympathies, designed the Kriegerehrenmal.
The Kriegerehrenmal features a ring wall made of clinker bricks. Almost 10,000 names of Bremen’s WWI dead are inscribed on it. A separate section lists members of Division Gerstenberg and Freikorps Caspari. These units suppressed the Bremer Räterepublik after WWI. Walter Caspari’s Freikorps was composed of nationalistic ex-officers and soldiers. Many later joined the Nazi party.
Originally, the Kriegerehrenmal also honored three Nazi members. They died in pre-1933 clashes with political opponents. These names were removed in 1945. The inscription “Chor der Toten” glorified militarism. Inside the wall, an altar-like stone stood. Opposite the circle, a sculpture of a mother and children completed the Kriegerehrenmal.
The inauguration took place on October 13, 1935. General von Fritsch, Mayor Heider, and Bishop Weidemann attended. Below the Kriegerehrenmal, a sculpture by Herbert Kubica honored WWI soldiers. It was dedicated in 1934 by a veterans association. The text was later updated to include WWII fallen.
After the war, Gorsemann reworked the mother figure. The new version, installed in 1963, gave her a suffering expression. Her “German” hairstyle was replaced with a simple cloth. Despite some damage and the removal of Nazi names, the Kriegerehrenmal remained largely unchanged. It still included the fallen who crushed the Bremen Soviet Republic.
Unfortunately, neo-Nazi groups used the Kriegerehrenmal for rallies. They promoted militaristic and racist ideas. A gate was installed to prevent such gatherings. The Kriegerehrenmal bears an inscription with a poem by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. It speaks of the dead being a greater army. It urges remembrance and sacrifice.
Another inscription honors those who fell liberating Bremen. They were from the Freikorps Caspari and Division Gerstenberg. The altar bears the dates 1914-1918. It states that 10,000 men went to war and death. It quotes the Gospel of John: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The Kriegerehrenmal stands as a complex reminder of Bremen’s past. It reflects both sacrifice and the shadow of National Socialism.