The Destroyed City, Rotterdam

The Destroyed City is a bronze memorial sculpture in Rotterdam. It commemorates the German bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, which destroyed the medieval center of the city. Unveiled in 1953, it was designated as a Dutch National Monument in 2010. It is the largest sculpture by the Russian-born French sculptor Ossip Zadkine, his best-known work.

The 6.5 meters (21 feet) tall sculpture portrays a human figure by a tree stump. The figure raises its hands, head thrown back as if crying in grief, with a hole in its chest. This absence of a heart symbolizes Rotterdam's center destruction. Zadkine called it "A cry against tyranny's brutality". It's likened to Picasso's Guernica art. The sculpture stands on a 2 meters (6.5 feet) high granite plinth.

Created from 1951-1953 in Paris by Susse Frères foundry, the bronze sculpture was a gift to the city with its location chosen by Zadkine. The donor's identity was revealed in 1978. The modern piece sparked controversy, notably with Jan Tillema, Rotterdam's Director of Public Works, branding it a "demonic scourge." Despite objections, the gift was accepted, and Tillema designed the plinth. The statue's installation, including the plinth, incurred a cost of 24,500 guilders.

On May 15, 1953, Gerard van Walsum, the mayor of Rotterdam, unveiled it on Plein 1940, where it remains by the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. It was shifted 60 meters (200 feet) in 1975 and restored in 2007 after temporary removal for construction in 2005.