From 1964

Initiated by

Former members of 4th Cuirassier Regiment, funded through donations from members of the regiment and supplemented by a municipal grant, also sponsored by 194th Tank Battalion of the Bundeswehr (German Army).

Designed by

Bernhard Graf von Plettenberg, from Lohne (Soest)

Design

The design is reminiscent of the previous memorial from 1930. The block is divided visually by three panels. The right panel shows a patrol consisting of a cuirassier on a horse and a soldier with binoculars standing by the horse. The centre panel shows a cuirassier on a horse at a graveside. The left panel shows four cuirassiers fighting tanks in Champagne in 1918. The scene is intended to be viewed as heroic. On the sides are plaques showing the names of soldiers from the regiment who died between 1914 and 1920.

Official opening

3rd Cuirassier Memorial: July 1st, 1964
2nd Cuirassier Monument: 1930
1st Cuirassier Monument: 1924
Location in city map

Historical Context

Object of remembrance

The 1964 monument, like its predecessors, serves to venerate the ‘heroes’ of the regiment who died between 1914 and 1920.

Historical context

The monument references the period of the regiment’s existence from 1717-1919. It honours fallen members of the regiment.

About the history of the regiment:

• July 17th, 1717: Founding of the Dragoon Regiment which later became 4th Cuirassier Regiment
• From January 27th, 1889: 4th Cuirassier Regiment von Driesen (Westphalia), named after Royal Prussian General Georg Wilhelm von Driesen (1700-1758)
• Took part in the Silesian Wars (1740–1742, 1744/45), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and the Wars of German Unification (1864, 1866, 1870/71)
• Stationed in the barracks on Steinfurter Straße
• Took part in the First World War with deployments in Poland, Russia and France, where they lost 209 soldiers
• At the end of First World War in 1918, they took part in the suppression of the Spartacist Uprising in Berlin
• The Regiment returned to Münster on August 18th, 1919 and were incorporated into the new Reichswehr as part of 13th Infantry Regiment.
• The military significance of cuirassiers dwindled during the First World War, as horse-borne units were superseded by tanks. Their members were largely drawn from the nobility and the wealthy, who felt a strong allegiance to the Kaiser.
• Two Cuirassier Memorials to the dead of the 4th Westphalian Cuirassier Regiment were erected before the Second World War. The first memorial was built on Neuplatz in 1924. The second memorial, erected in 1930 at the same location as today’s memorial, was designed by sculptor Josef Freiherr von Hammerstein from Munich. In 1942, the metal panels were removed and melted down for the war effort.

Public perceptions

The imagery appears, from today’s perspective, to glorify war. Militaristic and imperialist sentiments were expressed at the inauguration ceremonies for both the first memorial in 1924 and the second memorial in 1930.
After the inauguration of the third Cuirassier Memorial, a joint act of remembrance for all of the veterans’ associations in Münster was held at the memorial in 1964. It was attended by representatives from the Bundeswehr, the City Council and the German War Graves Commission.

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