"Ernst Thälmann. The myth behind the monument"
With the digital film project "Places East," the DDR Museum expands its innovative approach to presenting history. In the new episode, historian Dr. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk guides viewers through the history of one of the capital's most controversial monuments: the Ernst Thälmann Monument in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district.
Image gallery
DDR Museum
The film asks: Who was Ernst Thälmann—and what significance do monuments have for the culture of remembrance?
Dr. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk illuminates the life of the KPD chairman (born April 16, 1886, in Hamburg; died August 18, 1944, in Buchenwald concentration camp) and reveals the political staging of his biography by the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) since the 1950s. The film explores the myth of a man who became an anti-fascist role model in the GDR and, at the same time, was one of the gravediggers of the Weimar Republic.
"Places East" takes viewers on a cinematic journey to pivotal locations in East German history.
After the opening episode about Oberschöneweide, the focus of the second episode is now on Ernst Thälmann.
IN GERMAN
Click here to watch the film.
Additional information
Dates
February 2026
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