Wunden der Erinnerung (Wounds of Memory), LMU Library

Munich is a historic city with many beautiful old buildings in its center. However, with this rich history comes the scars of conflict and past wars. This is evident at the Wunden der Erinnerung (Wounds of Memory) monuments, which preserve the war damage caused by Nazi activity during World War II. One of these monuments can be found on the old university library of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. 

In 1995, artists Beate Passow and Andreas von Weizsäcker created the Wunden der Erinnerung project, installing glass plates over three sites around Munich that still had damage from World War II. In the case of LMU’s library building, this took the form of huge pockmarks in the red brick wall caused by gunfire and shrapnel from bomb blasts. The glass plates not only cover and preserve the damage without hiding it, but they also act as transparent plaques, signaling the significance of the sites.  

The delicate pane of glass hangs in sharp contrast to the violence that left its mark on the brick. It might not be the most bombastic monument to the atrocities of WWII, but in its simplicity, the scars of violence are allowed to speak for themselves.