Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag

Right in front of the Reichstag building, 96 cast-iron slate plates set into the ground commemorate the 96 members of the Reichstag murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Each plate carries the name, party, dates of birth and death, and the place of killing, from Dachau and Auschwitz to satellite camps and the People's Court. The memorial, initiated by the Perspektive Berlin association and unveiled in 1992, lists the victims by date of death rather than party, placing Social Democrats, Communists, Centre Party deputies and a Christian Social politician side by side. The plates sit slightly raised so passers-by stumble across them. Visitors walking from the Spree to the Reichstag tend to discover the monument almost by accident, only grasping the scale of the parliamentary loss on a second look.