It's been almost eight decades since the time of National Socialism. Fewer and fewer witnesses of those times can tell of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. At the same time, anti-Semitic crimes, xenophobia and attacks against the LGBTQ* community are increasing.
The project of the Bayerische Rundfunk in cooperation with the Kulturreferat (Department of Cultural affairs) of the State Capital of Munich „Die Rückkehr der Namen“ (Eng. "the return of names") wants to keep memories alive in a new way and bring back to Munich the memories of people who were excluded and persecuted by the Nazi ideology. It's to take a stand against forgetting, speaking out for plurality in society.
The project wants to give the Munich citizens who were persecuted and dehumanized during the Nazi era back a face. On the day of the campaign, the sponsors reminded people of the individual fates of the ones persecuted, in form of living memorials.
As part of this project, the Bavarian Academic Forum's Management took on the sponsorship for two people who were killed by the National Socialists. Let us state these two names, on behalf of the millions of victims of the Nazi regime, so that they too will not be forgotten:
Karl Gollner, born in 1916 in Trent, technician and finally soldier, committed to the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Eglfing-Haar on 3 May 1940, where he was deliberately starved to death.
Gerda Sattler, born in 1935 in Au, who was brought with her family to what was referred to as the "Gypsy camp" in Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the nine-year-old was killed in the gas chambers presumably in 1944.
In memory of her and a thousand of other people, memorial plaques were put up throughout town on 11th April 2024. The front of the memorial plaque showed, if one existed, a photo of the person, their name as well as the dates of their birth and death. On the back of the plaque was a short story about the historical person.
BayWISS supported and continues to support this campaign as part of its cooperation with the Wertebündnis Bayern.
Further information can be found in the press release and in this article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Press reports:
"Rückkehr der Namen": Knapp 5.000 Menschen gedenken NS-Opfern | BR24
„Die Rückkehr der Namen“ in der Münchner Innenstadt - München - SZ.de (sueddeutsche.de)
FC Bayern bei Rückkehr der Namen - Herbert Hainer: „Für eine lebendige Demokratie“
„Die Rückkehr der Namen“ in München erinnert an Geschichte der NS-Opfer (tz.de)
Die Rückkehr der Namen – Landeshauptstadt München (muenchen.de)
Furhter links:
NS-Dokumentationszentrum München, Instagram
Public History München (@public.history.muc) • Instagram-Fotos und -Videos
