Overview
- The Zentrum für Politische Schönheit placed a bronze statue of Walter Lübcke in front of the CDU’s Berlin headquarters and held a commemorative event attended by more than a hundred people.
- Lübcke’s relatives said they were not involved in planning or implementation, calling a letter delivered the day before the installation insufficient and stressing their support for a firm barrier to the far right.
- Berlin’s Bezirksamt Mitte confirmed it granted the permit without an explicit family endorsement, relying on written statements from the applicants and not seeking direct confirmation from the family.
- The district said the approved design was a respectful portrayal that did not violate Lübcke’s posthumous dignity, while the activist collective stated it had informed the family earlier and did not claim family approval.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the action as tasteless and instrumentalizing, as public debate continued over ethics, art freedom, and resisting normalization of the AfD.