Disunity Monument

From the DW:

"Berlin cancels plans for unity monument"

 

A monument honoring the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification has been stopped after years of planning. After nine years of delays, it was finally deemed too expensive. The German parliament's budget committee officially stopped preparations for the planned "Monument to Freedom and Unity" in Berlin on Wednesday. Culture Minister Monika Grütters regretted relaying the decision, saying the cancellation especially hits hard "the many enthusiastic participants and supporters who initiated this monument project and accompanied it over the years." The idea was to build a basin-shaped monument designed as a movable scale that would shift its weight when visitors stand in different places. Just like the civil movement that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and consequently German reunification in 1990, collective action can have an impact, the monument would symbolize. Its cornerstone was to be laid this year at the Schlossplatz, between the River Spree and Berlin's City Palace. However, plans for the monument came to an end Wednesday in a joint decision backed by both coalition parties, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The ministry of finance reported this month that the cost of the project would total at least 15 million euros ($16.9 million), rather than the initially planned 10 million euros. It was ultimately deemed too expensive.

 ^ Talk about irony. There is disunity in building a monument to German unity. I have lived in Germany twice and visited numerous times since and am not really impressed with the majority of monuments built throughout Germany in the past several decades. Maybe it's a good thing that this Unity monument isn't being built as it could add to the list of eye-sore monuments already in the country.  ^

http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-cancels-plans-for-unity-monument/a-19184332