- Bebelplatz
The Bebelplatz (formerly Opernplatz) is a public square in
Berlin , the capital ofGermany . The square is on the south side of theUnter den Linden , a major east-west thoroughfare in the centre of the city. It is bounded to the east by the State Opera building (hence its prewar name), to the west by buildings ofHumboldt University , and to the south bySt. Hedwig's Cathedral , Berlin's oldestRoman Catholic church. The square is named afterAugust Bebel , a leader of theSocial Democratic Party of Germany in the 19th century.The square, then called "Platz am Opernhaus", was built between 1741 and 1743 under
Frederick II of Prussia . From 1911 until 1947 it was called "Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Platz", after Emperor Franz Josef.The Bebelplatz is best known as the site of the
book burning ceremony held onMay 10 ,1933 by members of the S.A. ("brownshirts") and Nazi youth groups, on the instigation of the Propaganda Minister,Joseph Goebbels . The Nazis burned around 20,000 books, including works byThomas Mann ,Erich Maria Remarque ,Heinrich Heine ,Karl Marx and many other authors.The buildings surrounding the square were largely destroyed during
World War II and later restored.Today a glass plate set into the Bebelplatz, giving a view of empty bookcases, commemorates the book burning. Furthermore, a line of
Heinrich Heine is engraved, stating "Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen" (in English: "Where they burn books, they will also burn humans in the end"). Students at Humboldt University hold a book sale in the square every year to mark the anniversary.On the Bebelplatz - next to Federal Foreign Office - the exhibition of the
United Buddy Bears was shown in 2006 for the third time in Berlin. The exhibition consisted of more than 140 bear sculptures, each 2 m high and designed by a different artist. These multicoloured statues have some important messages to convey as they tour the world: together, they stand for the peaceful coexistence of all cultures and for tolerance, international understanding and mutual trust. Berlin's Bebelplatz was the ideal setting for the "United Buddy Bears", which face each other in a huge circle [ [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Buddy_Bear_Bebelplatz.jpgUnited Buddy Bears on the Bebelplatz 2006] ] .References
External links
* [http://www.stadtpanoramen.de/berlin/bebelplatz.html Panorama Bebelplatz] - Interactive 360° Panorama
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