Like the Prussian tower and the
Bavarian tower at the east entrance of the
Olympiastadion, the Glockenturm (bell tower) is a reinforced-concrete
structure,
which is covered with limestone that is marked by fossil imprints
of sea shells.
The Nazis built the Langemarckhalle as a monumental ceremonial
hall,
in which they honored the young soldiers who were killed at Langemarck
shortly
after the outbreak of the First World War. On May 11, 1936, a
huge bell was installed
in the bell tower. The sculptor, Walter E. Lemcke, created the
bell, which was
cast in Bochum. Today the bell stands on a pedestal beside the
Olympiastadion.
The bell and correspondingly the tower symbolized the power and
the strength on the
Nazi-state, because this bell served as a church bell and, during
the Nazi-state, would
ring at baptisms and funerals.
In 1945, the Glockenturm was burnt
out; a film archive was maintained in it during the
war. In 1948, the English Allies demolished the heavily-damaged
tower; and, in the 1950s,
Werner March rebuilt it.
Text Source: http://www.courses.psu.edu/nuc_e/nuc_e405_g9c/berlin/sonstiges/maifeld.html
Picture Source: http://www.fortunecity.de/olympia/kraft/195/kletter_bln/olymp_st/olympiast.htm
Click on the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
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