Photo of the exhibition space at Spandau Citadel, showing the bust of Karl Marx covered with a red clothFoto des Ausstellungsraums in der Zitadelle Spandau mit Blick auf die mit einem roten Tuch verhüllte Büste von Karl Marx
Artwork of the month, News, Object of the Month

Object of the Month: Spring awakening in Spandau – Karl Marx

Object of the Month 05/2026

Forgetting and remembering – this process sometimes requires a considerable amount of time to take effect. Sometimes, rediscovery also requires a different setting. A work of art at HU has now achieved this.

In 1953, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his death (and 135th birthday), Karl Marx was celebrated on a grand scale by decision of the SED – and honoured, among other things, with a colossal bust erected at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena, two important biographical milestones in Marx’s life. In the course of planning, a third bust (more precisely, a third cast) was added on the occasion of the naming of Leipzig University after Karl Marx. The simultaneous unveiling of the busts at all universities on 5 May 1953 (Karl Marx’s birthday) also sent a signal in terms of higher education policy. With the II. Hochschulreform (Higher Education Reform) of 1951/52, university administration was placed under the authority of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), which undertook far-reaching restructuring of teaching – including requirements to focus on Marxism-Leninism.

Photo of a bronze bust on a marble pedestal depicting the head of Karl Marxl, die den Kopf von Karl Marx nachbildet
Will Lammert, Karl Marx, bronze, 1953, historical presentation, photo: HU, Universitätsarchiv

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 and also received the GDR National Prize for his bust of Marx. 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, another cast was erected on Straußberger Platz – 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 (https://www.facebook.com/reel/1405135894314037) 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).

Photo of the exhibition space at Spandau Citadel, showing the bust of Karl Marx covered with a red clothFoto des Ausstellungsraums in der Zitadelle Spandau mit Blick auf die mit einem roten Tuch verhüllte Büste von Karl Marx
The bust of Marx, still covered, at Spandau Citadel, photo: Christina Kuhli
Photo of the exhibition space in Spandau Citadel, showing a view of the bust of Karl Marx on a pedestal
Presentation of the Marx bust in Spandau Citadel, photo: Christina Kuhli

Author: Christina Kuhli

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, ed. by Peter Feist, Dresden 1963, sculpture no. 146;
Doris Weilandt: Die Marx-Büste von Will Lammert, in: Karl Marx und die Universität Jena, ed. by Joachim Bauer und Stefan Gerber, Jena 2019, pp. 135-142;
Carlos Gomes: Lenin lebt. Seine Denkmäler in Deutschland, Berlin 2020.