After 15 years of intensive efforts, the memorial to the Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted and murdered under National Socialism is now becoming a reality: construction work will begin in March 2026 in Berlin’s Tiergarten near the Goldfish Pond. The project is based on a resolution passed by the German Bundestag on June 22, 2023 and is being funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe(www.stiftung-denkmal.de) is responsible for implementation.
The artist Matthias Leeck designed the simple bronze sculpture in the form of a tree trunk for the memorial site. The work of art is 4.95 meters high, weighs around 10 tons and, due to its weight, is transported to the site in individual parts and assembled on site. Together with an information board, an access route and various plantings, the memorial site fits into the Großer Tiergarten garden landscape monument in accordance with the specifications of the State Monuments Office.
The ceremonial handover of the memorial to the public will take place on June 24, 2026 in a one-hour ceremony. Among others, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Minister of State for Culture and Media Wolfram Weimer and Berlin Senator for Culture Sarah Wedl-Wilson are expected to attend. The day before, the Arnold Liebster Foundation will host a reception at the Akademie der Künste on Pariser Platz. Further details on the program surrounding the inauguration can be found at www.stiftung-denkmal.de/aktuelles/errichtung-des-mahnmals-fuer-die-zeugen-jehovas-beginnt/.
The location near the goldfish pond has a special historical significance: the Gestapo carried out an arrest operation against leading Jehovah’s Witnesses there on August 22, 1936. The religious community had been systematically persecuted in Germany since 1933 and throughout Nazi-ruled Europe from 1938. Almost 14,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses were imprisoned, including 4,200 in concentration camps, where they were stigmatized with a “purple triangle”. At least 1,700 of them lost their lives.
