Ernst Barlach’s Floating Angel (Der Schwebende) in the Dom zu Güstrow brick gothic church is one of the best-known war memorial sculptures in Germany.
Former British Museum Director Neil MacGregor described it well in the wonderful read Germany — Memories of a Nation: “The angel’s lips are closed, soundless. Here, war is internalized, its horror and dread made all the greater by being mute. The angel’s eyes are closed, perhaps unable to contemplate the pain and suffering. … Barlach himself said it was about the attitude we should take to war: Erinnerung und inner Schau, recollection and inner reflection.”