Berlin
Germany
Kleiststr./ Martin-Luther-Str. International Stele Always Remember since 30 November 2010
without names
You can't miss it, if you walk from U-Bahnhof Wittenbergplatz to U-Bahnhof Nollendorfplatz: on a grassy island at the intersection with Martin-Luther-Straße: it breathes the air of a grave monument. On the ground plate, people place white stones (laying around the plate) to remember a loved one. I put a stone for my longtime companion Erwin Matalla with whom I spent 5 exciting years in Berlin from 1983 to 1988.

I got a bit puzzled by the many logos of the sponsors on the side of the stele. The spot is absolutely terrific because lots of people pass by, any kind of people: gays and lesbians, Berliners and tourists. I watched many of them suddenly halting their movement and becoming curious.

The ground plate has two inscriptions, the upper one reads:
...somewhere over the rainbow...
...wenn ich die Augen schliess, dann seh ich dich...

The lower one reads:
Stirbt ein Elternteil, so stirbt die Vergangenheit,
stirbt ein Partner, so stirbt die Gegenwart,
stirbt ein Kind, so stirbt die Zukunft.

29 May 2011
Jörn Wolters, Amsterdam