COLD CASE FILE #7

Jochen Gerz and Esther Shalev-Gerz, Harburg Monument against Fascism
Location: Harburger Ring at the corner of Hölertwiete and Sand, Harburg-Rathaus, Harburg-Hamburg, Germany (53.4608588, 9.9803656)
Time or Duration: October 10, 1986 - November 10, 1993

CRIME REPORT:
Missing from the aforementioned location is the Municipal Council of Harburg-Hamburg’s Monument against Fascism: a 12m by 1m square column of galvanized steel. Also missing are two steel styluses used to inscribe the lead coated surface. This monument, etched with markings, was last seen on November 10th, 1993, when its remaining 1.5m sunk into the ground. Responsible for the physical disappearance of this object are the citizens of Harburg and visitors to the town, as well as Jochen Gerz and Esther Sahalev-Gerz who conceptualized the monument’s dynamic, democratic structure. Ultimately, this pillar fulfilled its purpose as a Gegendenkmal, a counter-monument: “brazen, painfully self-conscious memorial spaces conceived to challenge the very premises of their being” (1). What remains is not a domineering object against Fascism, but a reminder that “it is only we ourselves who can stand up against injustice” (2).

DOCUMENTATION:
[CRIME SCENE] | [PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE]

(1) James E. Young, "The Counter-Monument: Memory against Itself in Germany Today," Critical Inquiry 18.2 (Winter 1992): 271.

(2) Jochen Gerz and Esther Shalev-Gerz, text from a sign located near the Monument against Fascism (Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, 1986).