One Wall by Dima Korma

With his new ONE WALL, Berlin-based artist Dima Korma is making a statement about the culture of remembrance in public spaces. On the facade of an apartment building in the Paul-Hertz-Siedlung in Charlottenburg-Nord, Korma combines historical documents and a portrait of resistance fighter Bernhard Lichtenberg with a contemporary visual language. At the center of the mural is Bernhard Lichtenberg (1875–1943), a Catholic priest and staunch opponent of National Socialism. Lichtenberg publicly advocated for the persecuted, particularly Jewish people, and protested against the National Socialists’ euthanasia program. In 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo and convicted in 1942 for his critical stance toward the regime. He died in 1943 while being transported to the Dachau concentration camp.

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Korma approaches the historical figure through the principle of collage. Lichtenberg’s portrait, his signature, and other archival materials become components of the composition. Through Lichtenberg’s quote—“I combat false principles, from which false facts must inevitably arise (…)”—his stance critical of the regime is contextualized. The work thus exemplifies the potential of urban art as a medium of public memory in the everyday lives of neighborhood residents.

The process of creating ONE WALL was designed to be participatory. In a workshop led by Dima Korma and the German Resistance Memorial Center, young adults from the Anna Freud School explored the life of Bernhard Lichtenberg and, together with the artist, developed ideas for the mural. In this way, the ONE WALL serves as an opportunity for creative and sociopolitical learning.

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The mural was created as part of the ONE WALL initiative of the foundation Berliner Leben in cooperation with the German Resistance Memorial Center, with support from the Embassy of the State of Israel and Gewobag.

Photos: Ludger Paffrath