Unification Monument: Sculptures to Be Four Meters Tall

When candlelight illuminates the city on October 9, many residents will likely pause for a moment. Exactly 37 years ago to the day, at least 70,000 people gathered in Leipzig to protest the SED dictatorship. The demonstration, images of which were broadcast on television in West Germany, is considered a decisive step toward the fall of the GDR. Leipzig commemorates this event every year with a Festival of Lights.

A large monument is scheduled to be completed by 2029, the fortieth anniversary. At the moment, passersby don’t have much to see at Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz. In recent days, only a few test drillings have taken place, according to the City of Leipzig’s Cultural Affairs Office. “We’re still in the ‘artistic process,’” said Alexej Kolyschkow, one of the designers behind the proposal. Two years ago, he and other architects from the Zila collective won the City of Leipzig’s competition for a design for the Freedom Monument. 

Sculptures more than four meters tall

The elements—namely, the flags, banners, and signs—that are to adorn Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz in 2029 are still under development. At the very beginning of the design process, they folded paper to develop initial prototypes, explains expert Kolyshkov. “It’s a process of trial and error.”

The next step will be to consider exactly how the designs can be translated into metal. Accordingly, the elements will have standard dimensions of 4.5 meters at the top edge and 3 meters at the bottom edge. The sculptures are thus larger than ordinary banners, flags, and signs. 

Four white bedsheets and a “momentous” moment

On October 9, 1989, some 70,000 people marched through the streets of Leipzig carrying banners and flags. Videos secretly filmed at the time were broadcast on West German television shortly afterward, which is why October 9 is considered a pivotal moment in history. Civil rights activist Gesine Oltmanns was there as a young woman at the time.

For her, the weeks leading up to that moment were just as important. The moment when she stood in front of St. Nicholas Church with banners for the first time on September 4, 1989, was “outstanding,” Oltmanns said. “These clearly worded demands, written on four white bedsheets and carried by courageous people, were a clear message to those in power.”

The demonstrators’ banners in Leipzig at the time bore demands such as: “For an open country with free people.” This protest against the SED dictatorship is considered the beginning of the Monday demonstrations that led to the fall of the SED government. Oltmanns has since been named an honorary citizen of Leipzig.

Leipzig residents will have something to see no sooner than 2028

The future metal Monument to Freedom and Unity is to be painted white. For Oltmanns, this visual language embodies “openness,” because the monument’s design, with its white elements, helps people “reflect on themselves.” At the same time, it contains a call to engage with society and “to be active in public spaces in the tradition of 1989,” says Oltmanns.

The monument will not stand alone on Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz but will be integrated into a park. According to the City of Leipzig, the project is expected to take visible shape by 2028. Currently, structural planning is still underway. Assembly of the monument will begin in April 2029; it is scheduled to be unveiled on October 9, the 40th anniversary.