Boulder commemorates victims of German occupation of Poland

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  An boulder weighing several tons commemorates the victims of the German occupation of Poland during the Second World War.

• The temporary monument is to be handed over after the end of construction work in the first half of May 2025.

• The memorial will be a place of remembrance.

A temporary memorial near the Bundestag and the Federal Chancellery will commemorate the victims of the German occupation of Poland during the Second World War. It includes a 30-ton boulder with a dedication plaque and a wild apple tree, according to a statement.

"The fact that this memorial is being erected today on the former site of the Kroll Opera House is an important signal ahead of the commemoration of 80 years since the end of the war and the liberation on May 8," said Claudia Roth (Greens), the acting Minister of State for Culture, at the start of the construction work. May 8 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Handover of the monument in May

The handover of the temporary monument, which was the result of a private initiative, is scheduled to take place after the end of the construction work in the first half of May 2025. The dedication text reads in German and Polish: "To the Polish victims of National Socialism and the victims of German tyranny in Poland 1939-1945".

Claudia Roth: Establishment of German-Polish House remains a goal of Federal Government

It is erected on the former site of the Kroll Opera House. It was there that Adolf Hitler held a propaganda speech on the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, thus announcing the start of the Second World War. A first place of remembrance is being created, said Roth. "The Federal Government's goal also remains the establishment of the German-Polish House as an implementation of the Bundestag resolution for a federally funded place of remembrance and encounter".