There, uh ... aren't many monuments from the 1930s still around, but the Oraniendenkmal is one of them. Commissioned in 1933, it is ostensibly dedicated to the First Nassauer Field Artillery Regiment, which served in World War I.
What's interesting, though, is that since 1945 it has taken on a deeper significance, due to the person who dedicated the statue.
"On the 23rd of October 1934 the monument was inaugurated by Dr. Hermann Kaiser -- keynote speaker during the inauguration -- who fought for the construction of an Oranien monument for seven years.
Already during the inauguration of the monument it was noticeable that Hermann Kaiser was beginning to break from National Socialism. During World War II, he was part of the resistance. One day after the attempted coup he was arrested and later sentenced to death." [Source]
What was it that was "noticeable" in the dedication?
"At its inauguration, he honored 'the national movement' that was 'in the process of building the new social state of the Germans,' but left Hitler, the Nazi Gauleiter Jakob Sprenger, and the Nazi mayor of Wiesbaden Felix Piékarski unmentioned -- an incredible affront at that time.
Hermann Kaiser was arrested on July 21, 1944 along with his two brothers after a family celebration in Kassel. During the subsequent interrogations they were sometimes severely tortured. Hermann Kaiser was sentenced to death by the 'People’s Court' on January 17, 1945 and executed on January 23 in the Plötzensee prison in Berlin." [Source]
The text on the side of the monument translates as, "Hermann Kaiser, born on May 31, 1885, a member of the regiment from 1914 to 1918, unveiled this monument on October 21, 1934. As an active member of the resistance movement on July 20, 1944, he was executed on January 23, 195. His life is a warning against war and inhumanity."
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