Postage stamps: Places of interest - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1997 - 47 Pfennig

The »European Monument Berus«, landmark of the municipality Überherrn, is a symbol of German-French friendship and European understanding. It was built on the initiative of the Association for the Construction of a Monument to the Great Europeans. The design is by Dipl.-Ing. Gerald Motsch. The groundbreaking ceremony was made in 1966 by former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer; the inauguration took place in May 1970. The »European Monument Berus« was built on historical ground. From 1935 to 1939 here stood the Hindenburg Tower, which was directed as a sign of strength and defiance against France. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the tower was blown up in September 1939 by German pioneers in order to stop serving the French artillery as a point of reference. Following the referendum on the European Statute in Saarland and the final incorporation of the Saarland into the Federal Republic of Germany, a sign for Franco-German reconciliation was to be erected in the same place with the monument dedicated to the "Great Europeans". In terms of design, the European Monument symbolizes German-French history over the centuries. The two pylons, symbolizing the nations of Germany and France, penetrate in their lower part a platform and thus symbolize the common historical roots of both countries. In the upper part of the monument, the two pillars are penetrated by a bundle of rays of metal rods, which symbolize the mutual friendships between the neighboring countries of France and Germany after the last war and thus after a time of coexistence. (Text: Gemeinde Überherrn, Kulturamt)