A steel giant stands before us. This is the Zwangsarbeiterdenkmal in Dortmund. It rises 4.5 meters tall. Three meters wide it is a powerful presence.
The Zwangsarbeiterdenkmal is a memorial. It remembers the up to 80000 foreign forced laborers. These men and women suffered exploitation in Dortmund during World War II. Roughly a quarter of them toiled for the Dortmund-Hörder Hüttenunion DHHU. The Phoenix-Ost plant once stood here. Now a beautiful lake occupies its place.
The idea for this memorial came from the Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten. Dortmund’s city council approved its construction in 2014. Pia Emde designed it. Her concept is titled Zwischen Licht und Schatten between light and shadow. Horizontal layers of Corten steel sheets form the tower-like structure. They are stacked on steel boxes.
Inside are informative panels. They detail the experiences of forced laborers. They tell stories of prisoners of war and West and East workers. The panels mention Polish people and those who were imprisoned. These stories are hidden from outside view. You need to enter to read them.
The memorial cost 200000 euros. The city’s cultural budget covered most of the costs. Additional funding came from the Sparkasse Dortmund and DSW21. Each contributed 20000 euros. The memorial was inaugurated on August 10 2020. Oberbürgermeister Ullrich Sierau presented it to the city.
This is not just a monument. It is a place of remembrance. It reflects the dark side of Dortmund’s industrial past. It stands in contrast to the tranquil Phoenix See. The contrast is striking. It forces us to reflect on the past. It reminds us never to forget the victims of injustice. The Zwangsarbeiterdenkmal is a powerful symbol. It silently speaks volumes about the past. Let us all remember. Let us never forget.