‘Interrogation Cell’ monument and Literary Garden

The artist Gerd Stange (born 1954) designed this monument to Hans and Sophie Scholl and their White Rose resistance group. The installation entitled ‘Interrogation Cell’ is composed of various found objects: a steel helmet from the Second World War that was discovered on the banks of the Elbe River, driftwood and an old chair from the cellar of the Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court). The monument commemorates the victims of Nazi persecution, particularly those who suffered at the hands of the judicial system. It was dedicated on 1 October 1990, and its design was very controversial. The location of the monument on Geschwister-Scholl-Straße was chosen by the Hamburg Cultural Authority together with the 'White Rose' Foundation and other stakeholders. Gerd Stange installed his ‘Interrogation Cell’ in the ground. He lined the walls of a shaft with steel and placed the found objects in this ‘cell’, which is illuminated and covered with an armour plate. The only way to see the monument is to bend over and peer into the underground room.

On 1 September 2005, Gerd Stange opened a Literary Garden across from the ‘Interrogation Cell’. The garden has 80 white rose bushes planted by the artist himself (in reference to the name of the resistance group) as well as a bench. ‘The bench is the counterpart to cell,’ according to Gerd Stange. The Literary Garden symbolises the humanistic education of the Scholl siblings and their friends.

www.gerdstange.de