Mens tegen Macht, 1953

Mens tegen Macht (Man Against Power), by the Arnhem-born sculptor Gijs Jacobs van den Hof (1909–1965), is one of the city’s best-known war monuments. A year after its presentation during Sonsbeek ’52, the work was unveiled by Queen Juliana as a memorial to the victims of World War II. Every year on May 4, a wreath is laid at the sculpture.

The monument represents the powerlessness of civilians during the war. Originally, it stood next to the Eusebius Church on a sandstone pedestal with four corner sculptures, the so-called Pleuranten, and a relief of the mythological figure Pegasus. In 1970, the pedestal and accompanying sculpture were dismantled due to wear. The male figure was placed on a table, the Pleuranten were moved to the Moscowa Cemetery, where Jacobs van den Hof himself was buried in 1965. The Pegasus relief can now be seen on a wall near Airborneplein.

Mens tegen Macht shows characteristics of French classicism, typical of Jacobs van den Hof’s oeuvre. At the time, experts considered the figure’s posture unusual, which gave rise to the playful nickname “Keeper de Munck,” after the famous Vitesse goalkeeper, Frans de Munck.