On this Memorial Day in the U.S., I thought I would share this photo of a war memorial in Berlin. After German reunification, the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) became the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny."

In the center of the memorial is this large sculpture "Mother with her Dead Son" by Käthe Kollwitz. Placed directly under an oculus in the ceiling, the statue is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate…symbolizing the suffering of civilians during World War II.

It had rained earlier in the day and the statue and surrounding tiles were still wet when I arrived at the memorial. The sun was breaking though the clouds and light was finding its way in through the oculus above. This provided a great natural vignette, focusing your attention directly on the statue.

While I do not normally photograph this type of subject matter, I was moved by the sculpture and the surroundings…and thought it was a poignant scene that should be saved.