In 1951 the German Democratic Republic (DDR) created a memorial for important personalities fighting for socialism on the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde at Berlin, Germany. The place was chosen as in 1900 one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party, Wilhelm Liebknecht, was buried here. When Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were killed in 1919 they also found their last rest at this place and a memorial was created, that was later destroyed by the Nazis: the Revolutionsdenkmal.
Wilhelm Pfannkuch, Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten, Berlin 
Rosa Luxemburg, Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten, Berlin
The GDR made the new memorial the centre of remembrance for German socialists and every year in January giant gatherings at this place were organised. The memorial consists of a four meters high stone with the inscription ‘Die Toten mahnen uns‘ and graves that have been seen as most important around it. Around this inner circle is a wall with further graves and next to it there is another field with associated graves.
The inner-circle includes memorial stones for Rosa Luxemburg (but it is unsure whether the body buried here is really hers) and Karl Liebknecht – but also for Rudolf Breitscheid (not buried here), Otto Grotewohl, Franz Künstler, Franz Mehring, Wilhelm Pieck, John Schehr, Ernst Thälmann (his body has never been found) and Walter Ulbricht. Inside the wall and in front of the wall a high number of graves including those of Hugo Haase, Wilhelm Liebknecht, Wilhelm Pfannkuch (from Kassel, Germany) and Paul Singer can be found.
A very very small stone for the victims of Stalinism have been added later. Erich Mielke, one of the main responsible persons for creating the surveillance organization of the GDR (Staatssicherheit; Stasi) is anonymously buried outside of the memorial. In the former waiting hall of the memorial, you can now learn more about the memorial itself and the persons buried here as texts and pictures have been attached to the walls.
If you want to get to the Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten: the next railway station is Berlin-Lichtenberg which can be reached with subway U5. You just need to cross the tracks and walk along them – then you will immediately see the memorial at the border of the cemetery.
Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten
Friedhof Friedrichsfelde
Gudrunstraße 20
10365 Berlin
Germany
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