'Mega' Karl Marx statue arrives in Germany from China
March 6, 2018
A giant bronze statue of the namesake of Marxism has arrived in the German city of Trier, where the revolutionary socialist thinker was born 200 years ago. The artwork, a gift from China, didn't please everyone though.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Tittel
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Karl Marx has come full circle: on Tuesday, a giant statue of one of the founding fathers of communism has arrived in his birthplace, the western German city of Trier, after being shipped from China to Rotterdam. The larger-than-life figure, a gift from the communist People's Republic of China, will be unveiled on May 5, the 200th anniversary of Marx's birthday, finally making public a piece of art that has unleashed political controversy.
Including the base, the statue of Karl Marx stands 5.5 meters (18 feet) tall, according to the Trier city website. It will be placed on the Simeonstift plaza in the center of Trier, within sight of the Marx family house in Simeonstrasse and looking in the direction of the birth house of Karl Marx in the Brückenstrasse. It will be accompanied by an info board.
The bronze statue of Karl Marx shows him in thought and mid-strideImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Stadt Trier
The statue was created in Beijing by Chinese artist Wu Weishan, using bronze poured into a plaster cast. He depicts Marx wearing in a frock coat and lost deep in thought. Citizens of Trier got a sneak peak of the statue last March, when a wooden copy was exhibited in the city (see gallery below).
Welcome back Marx?
But the statue's planned installment in Trier was not initially welcomed by all its inhabitants. Some criticized the towering height of the "Mega-Marx." Others voiced fears that the statue would lead to masses of tourists to make a pilgrimage to Trier. Human rights groups and organizations representing the victims of communism also voiced disapproval.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the free-market friendly Free Democrats (FDP) led the opposition while the center-right conservative Christian Democrats pushed for the statue's installment, calling Marx "one of the city's great sons." After a drawn-out debate, the Trier City Council approved the statue's installment last March.
Not unpacked yet: the statue will be officially made public in MayImage: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Tittel
The statue in Trier is not the only controversial monument pertaining to Marx: his gravestone in the Highgate cemetery in north London has also suffered vandalism and two bomb attacks in the 1970s.
Born amid the industrial revolution's era of historic social and economic change, Marx spent the first 17 years of his life in Trier. The revolutionary socialist worked closely with fellow German Friedrich Engels to develop radical new theories of class struggle, which argued that capitalism would eventually lead to its own downfall and the subsequent rise of a classless society. His most famous works were "The Communist Manifesto"(1848) and "Das Kapital" ("Capital. Critique of Political Economy"). He spent much of his life in the United Kingdom and died in London in 1883.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels monuments in Germany
The two fathers of socialism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, are controversial figures in Germany. There are nevertheless many monuments dedicated to them throughout the country.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
A present from China
China offered to donate a 6.3-meter (20-foot) statue of Karl Marx to the German city of Trier, where the philosopher was born, for his 200th anniversary in 2018. After intense debates, the city council decided to accept the gift. Pictured here is the wooden dummy that was previously set up to give an impression of what the statue would look like.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Tittel
Reflecting on Marx
Trier celebrated another anniversary of the political thinker in 2013, 130 years after his death. The German conceptual artist Ottmar Hörl installed 500 plastic Marx figures in front of the impressive Porta Nigra. The artist aimed to provoke a discussion on the historical figure and the legacy of his works.
Image: Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images
Friedrich Engels in a thinker's pose
The four-meter-tall bronze sculpture of the other philosopher of communism, Friedrich Engels, is a bit smaller than the planned Marx statue in Trier. This Engels monument in his hometown, Wuppertal, was also made by a Chinese artist and offered by the government of China in 2014.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Kaiser
Spiritual brothers
The Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels monument in Berlin shows both authors of "The Communist Manifesto" together. The short work was published in 1848. The East German government had this monument, built in 1986, dedicated to the fathers of communism. After it had to be moved during construction works in 2010, Marx and Engels were turned to make them look towards the West, instead of the East.
Image: AP
Carved in stone
A huge Karl Marx monument can be found in Chemnitz - a city that was named after him until 1990. The 13-meter-high monument is the second largest bust in the world. On a wall behind the bust, Marx's well-known phrase from "The Communist Manifesto," "Workers of the world, unite!" is written in four languages: German, English, Russian and French.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images/Schoening
Marx instead of Bismarck
This memorial stone in Fürstenwalde, a town located in former East Germany, used to feature the first chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck. The Prussian was replaced by Karl Marx in 1945. After German reunification, the bronze was stolen and the city council had to decide if a new one should be dedicated to Bismarck or Marx. The latter obtained this new plaque in 2003.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/P. Pleul
Relief with potential for conflict
Karl Marx is also depicted on this bronze relief, called "Aufbruch" (Departure). For over 30 years, it decorated the main entrance of the Leipzig University, formerly named after the thinker in East German times. It was moved during renovation works in 2006, leading some to argue it should disappear completely. Finally, the relief was set up on the Campus Jahnallee with an explanatory text.
