Spring awakening in Spandau – Karl Marx

Rise and fall – From the new foyer to the basement

Will Lammert emerged as the winner of the competition organised by the State Art Commission, to which Fritz Cremer, Heinrich Drake and Gustav Seitz were also invited. The recognisable depiction – with characteristics such as flowing hair and beard and a high, slightly forward-sloping forehead – was shown in advance at the III. Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Third German Art Exhibition) in Dresden in 1953. The general public was also informed by the daily newspaper Neues Deutschland, the central organ of the SED, and in a report in the magazine Bildende Kunst, the bust is described as impressive, humanly warm and lively.

At Humboldt-Universität, the bust was unveiled in front of the Senate Hall together with the new foyer in the university's main building. However, it did not remain solely a symbol of socialist universities, but also found its way into the urban space. In honour of the 100th anniversary of Marx's death in 1983, a bust of Marx was erected on Straußberger Platz – presumably the copy at Humboldt University, which received a second cast in 1984 (see Bildhauerei in Berlin) – until now, this has been the only one remaining in public view. In 1991, the Humboldt University bust was removed by decision of the university administration and taken to storage. The bust was also taken out of sight at other universities.

Framing memories

In 1994, 2016 and 2017, the bust was displayed in exhibitions, but otherwise remained in storage – until now. In January 2026, it was moved to Spandau Citadel  and has been on display there since 9 May, alongside the other fallen heroes in the permanent exhibition “Unveiled: Berlin and its Monuments”. Here, it will continue to be ‘not reduced to a simplified political message,’ but, like other GDR monuments, ‘treated as authentic memorabilia and important historical symbols’ (Gomes 2020, p. 113).

With helpful comments from Prof. Mark Lammert

Literature: 

• Karl Marx und die klassische Literatur. Aus den Erinnerungen von Paul Lafargue, in: Neues Deutschland vom 14. März 1953, p. 4; 
• Helmut Holtzhauer: Die III. Deutsche Kunstausstellung in Dresden, in: Bildende Kunst März/April 1953, pp. 29-35;
• Marlies Lammert: Werkverzeichnis, in: Will Lammert, hrsg. v. Peter Feist, Dresden 1963, Plastik-Nr. 146;
• Doris Weilandt: Die Marx-Büste von Will Lammert, in: Karl Marx und die Universität Jena, edited by Joachim Bauer und Stefan Gerber, Jena 2019, pp. 135-142;
• Carlos Gomes: Lenin lebt. Seine Denkmäler in Deutschland, Berlin 2020.