25T28 Biedermann in Berlin Mitte: 2 sculptural examples

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E27, B22.

Born in East Berlin in 1947, Karl Biedermann is a German artist, best known for his sculptures. I highlight here two of his works as memorials, both located in Berlin Mitte. The two locations are separated by a short 1-km walk.

A bronze kneeling torso appears on the west side of Zionskirche (Zion Church). The 1997 sculpture by Karl Biedermann is a memorial to Dietrich Bonhoeffer: theologian, pastor at Zionskirche, and vocal dissident who opposed Nazi programs of forced sterilization and euthanasia. He was arrested at his parents’ house in 1943, and executed for conspiracy at Flössenburg on 9 April 1945, mere weeks before the Nazis’ unconditional surrender.

At the north end of Koppenplatz (Koppen plaza) is what appears to be an open room with a table and two chairs; one of the chairs has fallen over. It’s as if the people who once lived here had to leave quickly and are now gone. This is “Der verlassene Raum”: Denkmal für die deportierten Juden, or “The deserted room”: a memorial for the deported Jews. It’s a reference to the nearby Scheunenviertel, once a thriving hub for Berlin’s Jewish community. Biedermann and landscape architect Eva Butzmann created the sculptural piece for Koppenplatz in 1996.

It’s my 2nd time at the latter sculpture, and the empty eerie feeling has never left me.

Memorial to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, by Karl Biedermann (1997), next to the Zionskirche.
On the granite base of the sculpture is the sculpture’s title and inscription: “Für Dietrich Bonhoeffer” (For Dietrich Bonhoeffer).
“Der verlassene Raum”: Denkmal für die deportierten Juden.
“The deserted room”, memorial for the deported Jews.

I made the images with an iPhone15 on 21 May (first two) and 4 June 2025 (last two). This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

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