Unity Monument at risk: 2.5 million euros in additional funding

The completion of the Freedom and Unity Monument in Berlin is at risk without additional federal funding, according to the general contractor. According to information from Friday, the Stuttgart office of Milla & Partner has asked the Federal Institute for Building and Regional Planning, which is responsible for federal buildings, and the House of State Minister of Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) for follow-up funding of 2.5 million euros. Without the funds, the necessity of which is also justified by the "massive increase in construction costs plus inflation", the building is "fundamentally at risk". Previously, "Der Spiegel" had reported.

The monument, which has been controversial for years, is being built in the immediate vicinity of the Humboldt Forum and the former GDR State Council building on the plinth at the site of the former national monument to Kaiser Wilhelm in the center of Berlin. The concept of the 50 by 18 meter construction envisages a huge walk-in bowl. If a sufficient number of people move to one side, the scales tilt accordingly.

The Bundestag first approved the monument in 2007. Construction was delayed due to competitions, differences of opinion among the winning team and concerns from monument and animal rights activists.

Originally, the monument was to be inaugurated on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 2019. The date fell through due to funding issues. In 2018, the Bundestag's budget committee approved the 17 million euros initially required for the walk-through work, also referred to by critics as a "unity seesaw".

"The memorial is a social sculpture. It comes to life when visitors come together, communicate and move together," said architect and creative director Sebastian Letz in the press release. The monument is "an image of democracy in action".

From the perspective of Managing Director Johannes Milla, the project is "on the home straight, the base of the monument in front of the Humboldt Forum is just waiting for the shell to be installed". He hopes "that 34 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the completion of the monument to unity and freedom will not fail due to 2.5 million euros".