HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL PROGRAM - JULY 9, 2001 - PART II
This is the continuation of the webpage on the Unveiling of the Memorial. This page will contain the history of the implementation of the project.
The June 25, 2001 AUFBAU printed the following article:
Holocaust Memorial To Be Erected in Augsburg Germany
On July 9, 2001 the City of Augsburg in Bavaria will be unveiling a Memorial for the 600 Augsburger Jews who perished during the Holocaust. The Memorial will be permanently located in the Rathaus in the center of town.
The idea for a Holocaust Memorial started years ago. A designer had even made a rough sketch, but there was no real impetus behind getting it built. Then in 1998, Mr. Gernot Römer (the former editor of the Augsburger Allgemeine) worked with the City and Jewish community to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. They invited Mr. Henry Landman of New York City to be the key speaker. Mr. Landman was one of the youngest Augsburgers arrested and sent to Dachau on Kristallnacht (being only 18 years old). He was one of the few still alive to retell the events of that day. As irony would have it, after being released from Dachau in 1939, Mr. Landman then became an U.S. Army soldier and later was the first American to enter Augsburg.
During his speech he was able to relate stories about being a Bar Mitzvah in that Synagogue, getting an aliyah in the burnt out shell in 1945 at a U.S. Army service and how it felt to be back again in the beautifully renovated Synagogue. He concluded his speech asking why there was no Memorial to those Jews who lived in Augsburg before the war and perished during the Holocaust. The Mayor then rose and pledged that the City would erect such a Memorial.
But much research had to be done to verify the names of those Jews from Augsburg and the surrounding villages who died due to the Nazis. Mr. Gernot Römer conducted the exhaustive research to verify the list of names. He worked in conjunction with the second generation group, the Descendants of the Jewish Community of Augsburg (and their website at www.infotrue.com) to make sure that as many families participated in the review of names. More than anyone else, Mr. Römer, a non-Jew has protected the history of the pre-war Jewish Community of Augsburg.
The names have been finalized and the Memorial has been built and now on July 9, 2001 several dozen survivors and their families will be coming back to view the Memorial. For many people, this is the only place where the names of their family members will be inscribed, for there are no tombstones in the camps.
The following is a rough translation of a letter prepared by Mr. Gernot Roemer concerning the Memorial Ceremony on July 9th in Augsburg. I want people to know that although he credits me with some of the work on this project, that he deserves the lion's share of the credit. His devotion and hard work over the decades have laid the groundwork for the Memorial and his diligent researching of the names cannot be underestimated. He has done more to remember and preserve the memories of Augsburg's pre-Holocaust Jews more than anyone can imagine.
Finally, we have a date for the Memorial for the murdered Jewish citizens of Augsburg in the City Hall (Rathaus).
It will take place on Monday July 9, 2001 in the evening. The laborious work to collect 600 names was done by (Mr.Gernot Roemer) and put onto the internet by Rick Landman at the address of http://www.infotrue.com (and click on the Augsburg button).
The place for the Memorial is supposed to be in the Rathaus, but that space will not be ready by July 9th because it is currently part of the Police Station that has to be relocated to another location. The relocation process is not yet completed. In the meantime, it will be placed in a room with the names of the Augsburger workers killed in the last 2 wars. This is only a temporary locatin to expedite the installation of the Memorial that was promised when Henry Landman spoke in 1998.
Many former Augsburgers will be coming to the event (around 30 people have made reservations to date). We will place a list of hotels on the website with phone/email addresses. Mr. Ernst Cramer will be the speaker for the evening. If anyone needs any help, please feel free to contact Mr. Roemer at RoemerG@aol.com
Leave Your Comments in the Guestbook
View What Others Wrote in the Guestbook
The following is a letter sent by the City of Augsburg's Mayor's representative in response to my letter to the editor inquiring as to what has happened since my father's speech on Kristallnacht 1998.
December 2, 1999
Dear Mr. Landman,
Mayor Dr. Menacher asked me to answer your letter of October 15, 1999. I am very happy over your interest in the planned Memorial plaque for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust from Augsburg. You can be sure, that it is the obligation to take its part in doing the Memorial plaque.
Shortly after your father's speech on November 9, 1998, we created a small committee to prepare the Memorial. It consisted of Dr. Iradj Neman, the head of the Jewish Community, Mr. Römer who you know, and myself. We have promised the project in many situations. Mr. Römer thankfully took on the responsibility to compile the names for the Memorial plaque. As he will soon report, he has compiled approximately 800 names. No thought has been given to where the Memorial plaque should be located. The committee still has to think it over.
A sure interruption is that in the meantime there has been a change in the leadership of the Jewish Community. Of course, the new leader's opinions must be brought into the discussions. Happily, the City of Augsburg on my proposal has placed 120,000 DM in the year 2000 budget for the artistic design and construction. I hope that the Memorial plaque will be erected in 2000.
Sincerely,
Herr Gesler
Berufsm. Stadtrat
The following is the historical record of the progress of the Project.
English translation of Mr. Roemer's circular letter dated 12.04.1999:
Henry Landman (Heinz Landman) mentioned in his speech of
November 9,1998 that the survivors from Augsburg, following
examples elsewhere, would also like to have Memorial Tablets
with the names of holocaust victims of this city. Dr. Neman,
President of the Jewish Congregation Augsburg-Schwaben
assured him of fulfillment of this wish still during the same
memorial ceremony. The city of Augsburg will support the
congregation as well. The site of the tablets has not yet been
determined. It should, at any rate, be in the center of the city, if possible in the neighborhood of the synagogue.
Unfortunately, no complete list with names of the Augsburger
victims exists to this day. The data of the federal archives is
incomplete and other lists are defective and partly even
erroneous. The undersigned -- known to most of the recipients
of this letter personally or through his books -- has therefore taken on the task of assembling a list of names that is as complete as possible.
The Memorial Tablets should show the names of Jewish men,
women and children
- - who resided in Augsburg and were deported;
- - who were born in Augsburg and the formerly independent
and later incorporated districts of Kriegshaber, Lechhausen
and Pfersee and wo were deported;
- - who, facing persecution or imminent deporation, took
their own lives;
- - who were Jewish victims of euthanasia;
- - who were victims of political murders;
- - who were victims of National-Socialist "Justice".
My request: Please write us at the address of the Jewish Museum
Stiftung Juedisches Kulturmuseum, Augsburg-Schwaben
Halderstrasse 8, D-86150 Augsburg. Phone 082l/51 36 58,
FAX 0821/51 36 26
or email Mr. Roemer at RoemerG@aol.com
the names of your family members who became victims of the
3rd Reich. At the same time, please let us know the names of
murdered relatives and friends. In the case of many Augsburg
families there is no longer anybody to whom we could direct this
communication. They either perished at the time or the survivors
have meanwhile passed on.
If known to you, please mention also whether the names are included in the long list of victims at the end of my book "Der
Leidensweg der Juden in Schwaben". It would facilitate our
search if you could state besides the first and last names,
also the dates and places of birth and for married women the
maiden name. It could also be helpful in the case of persons
officially declared as dead, to know the court and date of
such declaration.
This is a sad piece of work that I am asking of you. But as
Henry Landman said:"Most of us do not have any graves that
they could visit in Germany". Therefore, the Memorial Tablets..
Sincere thanks for your assistance and best regards,
by order,
Gernot Roemer
Now that we have developed a list of Names of Augsburg's Jewish Holocaust Victims, we think that they should be incorporated into some sort of Memorial Plaque in honor of their lives and to remind the people of Augsburg of their loss. It is also a place where children and grandchildren can be reminded of their relatives. This list will be updated in February 2000 to include approximately 400 more names.
The following is an excerpt from the Speech given by Henry Landman on November 9, 1998 in Augsburg to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Kristallnacht.(English and German translations.)
Finally, I would like to mention that I and several other survivors of those terrible years would like to see a memorial with all the names of those Augsburger Jews killed during the Holocaust. Many towns, even small ones, have such remembrance plaques for their former Jewish neighbors. Some of us wanted to finance such a project, but we decided that this should not be the job of the survivors, but that of the City of Augsburg. We would all appreciate it greatly if our dream could come true.
German Translation
Zum Schluss möchte ich noch erwähnen, dass nicht nur ich, sondern auch andere Überlebende jener schrecklichen Jahre, wir wünschen uns schon lange eine Gedenktafel mit den Namen aller ermordeten Augsburger und Augsburgerinen. In vielen Städten gibt es solche Gedenktafeln, sogar sehr kleine Gemeinden erinnern so an ihre ehemaligen jüdischen Bürger. Einige von uns Überlebenden haben schon darüber gesprochen, selbst eine solche Namenstafel in Augsburg zu finanzieren. Es gibt sogar schon einen Entwurf. Aber eine solche Gedenktafel aufzustellen, das darf eigentlich nicht die Sache der Überlebenden sein. Es wäre uns ein Genugtuung, wenn sich das die Stadt Augsburg zur Aufgabe machen würde.
On November 9, 1998, just after Henry Landman gave his speech in the Augsburg Synagogue at the Pogromnacht (Kristallnacht)Program, Dr. Iradj Neman, the president of the Jewish Community rose to say that Augsburg would start working on such a project.
Now of course will come all the discussion on where the memorial should be... (in the city center, or at the synagogue, etc.)
What should it look like? Who's names should go on it? Does it include people who commited suicide before deportation? So it doesn't seem like a quick decision will be made.
It is my suggestion that a poster be made first and sent to all the remaining Jewish families for their comments regarding the list of names.
Then I hope they will find the appropriate location and material to memorialize the lives of the former Jewish Community of Augsburg which perished during the Holocaust.
Here are some of the results of the request.
NAMEN ERMORDETER JUDEN AUFSCHREIBEN - Gedenktafel soll bald geschaffen werden - Gerstern Spendenkonto eingerichtet
Article taken from the Augsburger Allgemeine, November 12, 1998
Der 60. Jahrestag des Nazi-Pogroms gegen jüdische Mitbürger brachte Bewegung in einen seit Jahren bestehended Plan. So soll es nun endlich eine Gedenktafel für die ermordeten Augsburger Juden in der Stadt geben.
Nachdem der Holocaust-Überlebende Henry Landman am Ender seiner bewegenden Rede in der Synagoge den Wunsch deutlich ausgesprochen hatte, die Namen der getöteten jüdischen Augsburger aufzuschreiben und diese Namenstafel als Mahnmal aufzustellen, gab es schnelle Reaktionen. Dr. Iradj Neman, Präsident der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde, versprach Landman noch am selben Abend, für die Gedenktafel zu sorgen. OB Peter Menacher wurde angesprochen; im Anschluss an die Gedenkfeier kamen, wie Neman berichtet, spontan einige Augsburger auf ihn zu und boten Geld für die Tafel an.
Inzwischen hat Menacher die Sache mit dem Ältestenrat des Stadtrats besprochen, die "grundsätzliche Bereitschaft" für eine Gedenktafel bekundet und die israelitische Kultusgemeinde brieflich nach ihren Vorstellungen gefragt. Er biete bald Gespräche über Gestaltung und Standort an, liess der OB ausrichten, hoffer aber, dass die Stadt die Kosten nicht allein tragen müsse. Bisher sei das Anliegen der Holocaust-Überlebenden noch nicht an die Stadt herangetragen worden, auch gebe es bereits eine Gedenktafel für Opfer der NS-Diktatur in der Prinzregentenstrasse.
NICHT SACHE DER OPFER
Henry Landman hat indes schon vor zwei Jahren die Initiative für eine Gedenktafel ergriffen und sogar angeboten, dafür Geld unter den Überlebenden zu sammeln. Seine Augsburger Freunde redeten ihm das aus, da die Finanzierung eines solchen Mahnmals nicht Sache der Opfer sein kann.
Auch gab es bei der Stadt nach Informationen aus Kultusgemeinde, Christlich-Jüdischer und Deutsch-Israelischer Gesellschaft bereits erfolglose Anfragen, nicht nur (schon under dem früheren OB Breuer) nach einer Gedenktafel, sondern zuletzt auch danach, eine Strasse nach dem jüdischen Bürgermeister Ludwig Dreifuss zu benennen. Auch ein Entwurf für die Gedenktafel vom Bildhauer Klaus Goth existiert bereits. Als Standort wurde zunächst der Jüdische Friedhof erworgen, dann aber ein Ort mit mehr Öffentlichkeit, etwa Prinzregentenplatz, Rathausplatz oder der Hof der Synagoge in Betracht gezogen.
Dr. Iradj Neman bekräftigt nun sein Versprechen, binnen eines Jahres eine "würdige Tafel" anzubringen und hat gestern dafür ein Spendenkonto bei der Stadtsparkasse Augsburg eingerichtet.
Bei seinem Zeitplan gibt es jedoch ein Problem: es wird schwierig, alle Namen jüdischer NS-Opfer aufzulisten, weil die auch mehr als 50 Jahre nach Kriegesende noch nicht ganz bekannt sind. Dass da zeitraubende Nachforschungen nötig sind, bestätigt der Vorsitzende der Deutsch-Israelischen Gesellschaft und frühere AZ-Chefredakteur, Gernot Römer. Die Sisyphos-Arbeit" wolle er gern übernehmen, wenn die Stadt dazu Hilfestellung gebe. Zunächst jedoch soll ein Initiativkreis zusammentreten und die Schaffung der Gedenktafel vorantreiben.
My rough translation is as follows:
The names of the murdered Jews will be inscribed… A Memorial Plaque will soon be made - the funding was ordered.
There shall now be a memorial plaque for the murdered Jewish Augsburgers in the City. The Holocaust Survivor Henry Landman mentioned his desire for such a plaque in his speech at the 60th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, and he received a quick response. Dr. Iradj Neman, the President of the Jewish Community promised Henry such a memorial the same night (after his speech). The Mayor was approached on the night of the ceremony and funds were requested for the memorial.
The Mayor asked the City Council in the meantime about the matter. He recieved promsies ober the placement but they requested that the funds not only come from the City. Henry Landman had asked for a memorial for 2 years already with funds coming from the victims families, but his Augsburger friends suggested that the funding for a memorial is not up to the victims of the Holocaust. There was also discussion from other groups about naming street for the Jewish Mayor Ludwig Dreifuss. A sketch from Klaus Goth exists. Locations were discussed such as next to the Jewish cemetary, or in a more visible place such as at Prinzregentenplatz, the City Hall area or the Synagogue courtyard.
A funding account has been opened. {I will keep people informed how to contribute if they want to.} But now the problem arises as to the specific names for the memorial. Gernot Romer will be seeking help from the City, but will assist in the endeavor.
I will place the way of contributing to the account, in this part of the page when more information is available.
Back to the top
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page