Die Aufsteigende (The Rising Man) is a bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Cremer (1906 – 1993). The sculpture depicts a standing male figure about 8 ft. tall, aptly symbolizing the rising of man towards an awareness of his historic role and the unfolding of his strength. 

The Rising Man liberates himself from a world which is a burden on him. He is a symbol of man’s liberation from the shackles of the past. The sculptor dedicated the work to people liberating themselves from oppression. 

The sculpture was presented to the UN on September 17th, 1975, by the Foreign Minister of the German Democratic Republic, Oskar Fischer (1923 – 2020), on behalf of his country, as this work of art was gifted to the United Nations prior to German reunification. The gift was accepted by Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim (1918 – 2007) at a ceremony in the United Nations North Lawn garden, where Waldheim stated that the “vivid and arresting” statue rightly symbolized the United Nations, which “represents the bondage of the past, the liberation of the present, and the hopes for the future.”