• Memorial to Georg Elser
Since 2011 a memorial on Wilhelmstraße in Berlin remembers Georg Elser, who single-handedly carried out an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in November 1939.
Image: Munich, 1939, Bürgerbräukeller after the assault, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-E12329, Wagner
Munich, 1939, Bürgerbräukeller after the assault, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-E12329, Wagner

Image: Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
On November 8, 1939 a bomb exploded in the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, only a few minutes after Adolf Hitler had left the hall surprisingly early after his traditional speech at the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. The bomb was big enough to kill Hitler and several other high rankings members of the National Socialist Party. The assault was planned by a single man, the carpenter Georg Elser, born in 1903. Georg Elser was a decided opponent of the Nazi dictatorship right from the beginning of the regime but it was mainly the Munich Agreement of 1938 and the threat of a world war which inspired him to take action. Although he has been a member of several leftist organisations he acted alone and independently from other resistance groups. His action was meticulously planned: for example, he sought work in a quarry to get hold of explosives and detonators. Prior to the assault , for several weeks he let himself get locked into the Bürgerbräukeller every evening, hollowing out a pillar which would later hold the bomb.
Trying to cross the border to Switzerland illegally, he was arrested about an hour before the bomb in Munich went off. The link between him and the assault in Munich revealed itself to the interrogators only days later. Since the Nazi leadership was convinced that the British Intelligence Service was behind the professionally executed assault and they tried to prove that, Elser never faced trial. He always remained adamant the he acted alone and even reconstructed his bomb in prison to prove it. Elser was imprisoned in concentration camps for years until Hitler personally ordered his killing in the concentration camp of Dachau on April 9, 1945.
Image: Munich, 1939, Bürgerbräukeller after the assault, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-E12329, Wagner
Munich, 1939, Bürgerbräukeller after the assault, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-E12329, Wagner

Image: Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Georg Elser was killed on April 9, 1945 by a shot in the neck by SS-Oberscharführer Theodor Bongartz and immediately burned in the crematorium.
Image: Munich, 1939, Georg Elser on a police photography, public domain
Munich, 1939, Georg Elser on a police photography, public domain

Image: Berlin, 2014, Memorial to Georg Elser at night, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2014, Memorial to Georg Elser at night, Stiftung Denkmal
For decades Georg Elser and his act were barely acknowledged in divided Germany. When it came to resistance to National Socialism, remembrance in West Germany was dominated by the conspirators of the Juli 20, 1944 assassination attempt and the resistance group White Rose. Both the meaningfulness of his act and the fact that he acted alone were contested by many, some even assumed that Elser acted on behalf of the Nazis. At the same time, in East Germany, where the communist resistance was emphasized, the Communist ideologists were suspicious of Elser because of him being a maverick.
Due to new research, publications and films slowly a process of rethinking took place. Since the 1990s streets, public places and schools are named after Georg Elser. In 1997 the German Resistance Memorial Centre devoted an exhibition to him. The focus of public remembrance today is on his motive to prevent war, his determination to carry out the plan on his own and his slowly defiance during the years of imprisonment. The Berlin memorial to Georg Elser was built on the 2007 initiative of the playwright Rolf Hochhuth which was backed by the Berlin House of Representatives. After an open competition the jury opted for the design by the artist Ulrick Klages. On November 8, 2011 the memorial was unveiled in the immediate vicinity to the former Reich Propaganda Ministry and the site of the former »Führerbunker«. Principal element of the memorial is a 17-meter steel sculpture showing Georg Elser in profile. The sculpture is complemented by an information panel and two quotes from the interrogation protocols: »(…) that the situation in Germany can only be changed by eliminating the current leadership« as well as »I wanted to prevent the war«.
Image: Berlin, 2015, »I wanted to prevent the war« - quote from Georg Elser on the pavement, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, »I wanted to prevent the war« - quote from Georg Elser on the pavement, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Memorial to Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Image: Berlin, 2015, Detailed view of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Detailed view of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Image: Berlin, 2015, Wilhelmstrasse and the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Wilhelmstrasse and the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Image: Berlin, 2015, Information plaque, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Information plaque, Stiftung Denkmal
Image: Berlin, 2015, Quote from Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Berlin, 2015, Quote from Georg Elser, Stiftung Denkmal
Name
Denkzeichen Georg Elser
Address
Wilhelmstr. 93
10117 Berlin
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.