Völkerschlachtdenkmal
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Völkerschlachtdenkmal is a large monument in Leipzig, Germany to the defeat of Napoleon in 1813 at the Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of Nations. The monument is widely regarded as among the best examples of Wilhelmine architecture. It was completed in 1913, on the hundredth anniversary of the battle, and is said to stand on the spot where Napoleon saw his army destroyed.
Some view its style as very overbearing and pompous, and the statuary pervasive throughout is meant to call forth mythic images of Germanic heroism, of the sort propounded by Richard Wagner. Hitler took advantage of the nationalist tone of the monument, and chose it as a frequent venue for his speeches when in Leipzig.
During the period of communist rule in East Germany, the government of the GDR was unsure whether it should allow the monument to stand, since it represented the staunch nationalism of the period of the German Empire. Eventually, it was decided that the monument should be allowed to remain, since it represented a battle in which Russian and some German soldiers had fought together against a common enemy, and was therefore representative of "Russo-German Brotherhood-in-arms" (German: Deutsch-russische Waffenbruderschaft).
