Berlin's Commemoration of Communist Victims 'Long Overdue'

The Memorial for Victims of the Communist Regime in Germany

In 2019, the Bundestag voted to create a memorial dedicated to the victims of the communist regime in Germany. Despite years of delays, there are now renewed efforts to move forward with the project. Located in the heart of Berlin's Spreebogen district, the site is currently a well-maintained lawn with a few young trees and three park benches. Every day, thousands of people pass by this location, including tourists from around the world and employees of the nearby Chancellery or parliament heading to or from Berlin's main railway station.

This seemingly ordinary space will soon become one of Germany’s most significant memorials. Since fall 2024, the site has been officially designated as the Memorial for the Remembrance of the Victims of Communist Dictatorship in Germany. It will honor those who suffered under the authoritarian rule of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which existed from 1949 until its collapse in 1989.

The GDR was an oppressive regime that systematically persecuted dissidents, suppressed freedom of movement and expression, and maintained strict control over its citizens. During this period, more than 600 people lost their lives while attempting to flee to the West across the inner-German border or over the Berlin Wall. The memorial aims to ensure that these stories are not forgotten.

A Long-Overdue Initiative

Victims' associations have long called for such a memorial, arguing that it is overdue. In September, when the German parliament debates the 2026 federal budget, the State Minister for Culture’s budget is expected to include the necessary funding for the memorial. This would mark a critical step forward, enabling the launch of a design competition for the memorial.

Dieter Dombrowski, a 74-year-old East Berliner and chairman of the Union of Associations of Victims of Communist Tyranny, emphasizes the importance of the initiative. He was sentenced in 1974 by the Schwerin District Court in the GDR for "illegal border crossing" and "subversive activities," serving 20 months of his sentence before escaping to West Germany. Dombrowski was later vindicated in 1994.

He recalls how his Catholic family actively protected him and his siblings from the influence of communism, which was omnipresent in the GDR. “It was everywhere—kindergarten, school, work,” he said. His family had eight children, six of whom were imprisoned at some point due to their opposition to the regime. Around 350,000 people ended up in prison in the GDR because of their resistance to the system.

Dombrowski believes the memorial will also honor those prisoners who died before the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Many people did not live to see the fall of the wall, but they desperately longed for it to happen.” He hopes the memorial will provide psychological support for survivors and show them that they were not alone.

A National Memorial for the Last in the Eastern Bloc

Although the Bundestag approved the memorial in 2019, it has only now received the financial backing needed for realization. Dombrowski notes that Germany is the last country in the former Eastern Bloc to erect a national memorial for the victims of communism. He stresses that remembering the “second German dictatorship” should not overshadow the significance of the Nazi era. “But communism always means dictatorship,” he added.

Germany already has more than 900 commemorative sites, memorials, and museums that honor the legacy of the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) and the GDR. Some of these are local or regional initiatives, while others are nationally recognized, such as the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial and the Cottbus Prison Memorial, which commemorate the prisons of the Stasi, the secret police of former East Germany.

Designing a Meaningful Space

Anna Kaminsky, director of the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, hopes the memorial will be completed as soon as possible. She believes it is essential that as many victims and affected individuals as possible, especially those from the early years, can see the finished structure. This way, they will know their suffering is remembered forever.

Kaminsky also sees the memorial as part of the broader memory of dictatorship. She refers to the 1953 uprising in the GDR and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, which created a physical and ideological divide between East and West. She believes explicit remembrance is urgently needed today to highlight the differences between dictatorship and democracy.

Details about the site have already been finalized, with the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, the staff of the State Minister for Culture, Wolfram Weimer, and the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning working on the specifications for the design competition. If the budget is approved, work will begin immediately. If the competition is decided in 2026, construction could start in 2027, 38 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

An Interactive Learning Hub

Dombrowski argues that the memorial should not be limited to annual ceremonies or occasional wreath-laying events. Instead, he envisions an “interactive memorial” that could be established online, offering additional features through QR codes. This would allow the site to become a “learning hub” for schools, youth groups, and educational institutions. “Then it wouldn’t just be a memorial but would contribute to broad civic education,” he said.