Marx and Engels Are Still Standing in Berlin — Here's Why

In a small park between Alexanderplatz and the Spree River, two bronze figures sit quietly on a bench.

One stands. One sits.

They look calm. Almost contemplative. Two thinkers frozen in time while modern Berlin rushes past them.

These are Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the intellectual fathers of communism. Their statues have stood here since 1986.

More than three decades after the Berlin Wall fell.More than three decades after the ideology they inspired collapsed across Eastern Europe.

And yet — they’re still here.

No one has torn them down. No one has hidden them in a museum. No one has tried to erase them.

For visitors on our free walking tour in Berlin, this is one of the stops that generates the most questions:

Why are the Marx and Engels statues still standing?

What Is the Marx-Engels-Forum?

The Marx-Engels-Forum was inaugurated in 1986, just three years before the Berlin Wall fell.

It was one of the last major ideological monuments built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) — a public space created specifically to honor the two men whose writings formed the foundation of East Germany’s political system.

The sculptor, Ludwig Engelhardt, made a deliberate design choice:

• The statues are approachable

• They are not placed high on a monumental pedestal

• They are not framed by overwhelming architecture

  
  

Marx stands roughly four meters tall. Engels is slightly shorter. They are human-scale figures, placed directly in the park.

This matters.

Unlike the massive Socialist Realist monuments common across the Soviet bloc, these statues feel accessible. You can sit next to them. Tourists often do.

Behind them, steel relief panels depict scenes of socialist struggle and workers’ movements. Most passersby barely notice them today — but they remain intact.

Why Weren’t They Removed After Reunification?

After German reunification in 1990, Berlin faced a difficult question:

What should be done with the symbols of the former GDR?

Some monuments were removed immediately.The giant statue of Lenin at what was then Leninplatz was dismantled in 1991 and buried outside the city.

But Marx and Engels presented a different case.

Here’s why:

1. Marx Was Not a Political Leader

Karl Marx was a 19th-century philosopher and economist.He never governed a country.He never led a regime.

The governments that later claimed to follow his ideas came long after his death.

2. His Work Is Studied Worldwide

Marx’s writings are taught in universities across the globe — including in capitalist democracies. Removing his statue would not simply erase GDR symbolism. It would raise broader questions about intellectual history and academic freedom.

3. Berlin’s Approach to History Is Different

Berlin does not tend to erase uncomfortable history. It contextualizes it.

The city is filled with memorials, scars, and preserved fragments from radically different eras — imperial, Nazi, socialist, and democratic.

The Marx-Engels-Forum became part of that layered landscape.

The 2010 Relocation Scare

In 2010, construction work for a nearby U-Bahn extension required the statues to be temporarily moved a few meters.

Some observers wondered whether this was a quiet opportunity to remove them permanently.

They returned.

That decision was symbolic in itself: not an endorsement of ideology, but an acknowledgment of history.

What the Marx-Engels-Forum Means Today

Today, the forum exists in a strange in-between state.

It’s not a functioning ideological space.It’s not a shrine to communism.It’s not quite a museum either.

It has become something very Berlin:

A place where history simply stands — and waits for interpretation.

Visitors sit on the bench next to Marx for photos.Children climb around the statues. Skateboarders pass by without a second glance.

At one point, someone placed a sign near the statues reading:

“Wir sind unschuldig.”(“We are innocent.”)

Whether ironic or sincere, the moment captured Berlin’s tone perfectly.

The statues have become less about doctrine and more about dialogue.

A Broader Question: What Do You Remove — and What Do You Keep?

Cities that undergo regime change often remove monuments of the past.

Berlin chose a more complicated path.

Instead of clearing away every trace of the GDR, it allowed some symbols to remain — reframed by context rather than propaganda.

The Marx-Engels statues are no longer state-sponsored ideology.

They are artifacts.

And artifacts invite discussion.

Visit the Marx and Engels Statues in Berlin

The Marx-Engels-Forum is located between Alexanderplatz and the Spree River, just a short walk from Museum Island.

It’s stop number 5 on our free walking tour in Berlin, where we talk about:

• The fall of the Berlin Wall

• Everyday life in East Germany

• What reunification actually looked like on the ground

• And how Berlin deals with difficult history

  
  

Because in Berlin, history isn’t removed.

It’s layered.

Book your free spot now. 12 stops from Alexanderplatz to Hackescher Markt — history, controversy, and stories you won’t find in any guidebook. Tip-based. No fixed price.