Youth Monument in Leipzig
The Youth Monument in Leipzig was a bronze sculpture dedicated to the National Socialist youth organization Hitler Youth. It was erected in 1938 at the green area by the junction of Reitzenhainer (now Prager) and Naunhofer Street in the Thonberg district. The work was created by sculptor Walter Zschorsch, who had studied at the Leipzig Academy of Art under Max Klinger. The monument showed three uniformed youths—two boys and a girl—standing on a stone pedestal. One boy raised his hand in the Hitler salute, while the girl played a Wandervogel lute. In 1942, it was removed for melting as part of the wartime metal collection drive and was destroyed.
1942 © unbekannt (Hochbauamt Leipzig) · Public domain
1942 © unbekannt (Hochbauamt) · Public domain
1940 © Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
Identification | |
| Title | Jugend-Denkmal |
| Type | Youth memorial / monument; sculpture |
| Subject | Youth |
Historical context | |
| Dedication | Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) |
| Ideological significance | The monument had ideological significance |
Creator | |
| Artist | Walter Zschorsch (1888–1965) |
| Education | Studied at the Leipzig Academy of Art under Max Klinger |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Installed | 1938 |
| Original location | Green area at the junction of Reitzenhainer Straße (today Prager Straße) and Naunhofer Straße, Thonberg, Leipzig, Germany |
| Pre-existing site feature | Since 1863, a stone block had stood at the site, intended as the foundation for the future Battle of the Nations Monument and later concreted into its foundation |
Physical characteristics | |
| Base | Stone plinth |
| Depicted figures | Two boys and one girl |
| Figure count | 3 |
Materials | |
| Material | Bronze |
Appearance | |
| Clothing | The figures were dressed in uniforms |
| Gesture | The tallest boy raised his arm in the Hitler salute |
| Girl's attribute | The girl played a Wandervogel lute |
| Younger boy's attribute | He wore a Hitler Youth hiking knife on his belt |
| Older boy's attribute | He carried a field flask |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Interpretation | The trio was apparently meant to symbolize the three branches of the Hitler Youth: Hitler Youth for boys aged 14–18, Deutsches Jungvolk for boys aged 10–14, and Bund Deutscher Mädel for girls aged 10–18 |
Location and ownership | |
| Map reference | Shown on a 1940 city map of Leipzig |
History and restoration | |
| Removal | Dismantled in 1942 for melting down |
| Removal reason | Requisitioned in the German metal collection campaign for war-important raw materials for the front |
| Removed with | 29 other Leipzig monuments |
| Last known photograph | A final photograph shows it at the collection point for dismantled monuments on Dauthestraße / Dautzschstraße |