25th May 1937
Kaiser Wilhelm Monument
Postcard depicting two fashionable gentlemen posing in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument in Berlin. Ref: 25.05.1937
National Kaiser Wilhelm Monument
From Wikipedia:
The National Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Nationaldenkmal) was a memorial structure in Berlin dedicated to Wilhelm I, first Emperor of Imperial Germany. It stood in front of the Berlin Palace from 1897 to 1950, when both structures were demolished by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) government.
The monument featured an imposing equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I. The memorial was built in front of the Eosander portal on the west side of the Berlin Palace. The design of the memorial was commissioned by Wilhelm I's grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, in the Baroque Revival style and cast by the sculptor Reinhold Begas, who had also designed the Siegesallee and the Bismarck Memorial in Tiergarten.
During the November Revolution of 1918, the monument was damaged in parts, so in the early days of the Weimar Republic the government decided to restore the monument instead of removing it. The monument came through The Second World War relatively undamaged.
In the winter of 1949/50, the GDR's ruling party, the SED decided to demolish the monument to its base. The demolition was politically motivated, as was the case a short time later with the decision to demolish the City Palace. The base still exists today on the southwestern edge of the castle square and is a listed building. The base floor is partially decorated with mosaics that are now protected under a layer of asphalt from the elements.
In the underground vaults of the pedestal, street artists are known to leave their works, which can be visited at irregular intervals at one's own risk on descending a steep ladder into a revision shaft.
From the actual monument, the four lions survived and now are on display outside the lion house at the Berlin Zoo. Furthermore, one remaining eagle statue by August Gaul is now owned by the Mark Brandenburg Museum.
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