Georg Elser Memorial

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  View of the Georg Elser Memorial.

• Prefabricated buildings in Wilhelmstraße, the Georg Elser Memorial can be seen on the right.

Georg Elser - the man who almost killed Adolf Hitler - is honored in Berlin with a memorial. The unusual memorial stands in the former Nazi center of power.

His silhouette towers high above the treetops: Johann Georg Elser, a man who proved his vision and courage in life, is honored with a memorial in Berlin. The Swabian carpenter tried to kill Adolf Hitler with a bomb in 1939. In the middle of the former Nazi center of power in Berlin - on the corner of Wilhelmstraße and An der Kolonnade - the unusual memorial commemorates Elser. On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, it was handed over to the public 72 years after the failed assassination attempt.

Elser memorial was created by a Berlin artist

The memorial consists of a filigree steel sculpture over 17 meters high with the silhouette of Elser's profile and is illuminated in the dark with LED lamps. Quotes from Georg Elser are also embedded in the sidewalk as illuminated strips. The 200,000 euro steel project was created by Berlin artist Ulrich Klages, whose design won first prize in a Europe-wide competition. The competition was preceded by an initiative by the writer Rolf Hochhuth.

Georg Elser - a man who showed courage

The Swabian carpenter Georg Elser wanted to kill the National Socialist leadership in order to prevent the impending war. He had been preparing his assassination attempt since 1938 - and almost succeeded in killing Adolf Hitler on November 8, 1939 with an explosive device he had built himself in Munich's Bürgerbräukeller. But Hitler left the venue earlier than expected. Eight people were killed and 63 injured in the explosion. Apart from Claus von Stauffenberg's attack on July 20, 1944, this was the only attack that directly endangered the life of the German dictator.

Information

• Address:
  Wilhelmstrasse 90
  10117 Berlin
  City map