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Medal of Honor for Ehrhardt Bödecker and his wife Anneliese: "Controversial Conservative and Prussian Enthusiast"
Photo: Paul Zinken / picture alliance / dpa
The family of Ehrhardt Bödecker, a controversial major donor for the reconstructed Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum), has confirmed the allegations of anti-democratic statements. Bödecker, who died in 2016, had defended theses that were “wrong and sometimes even right-wing extremist”, write daughter-in-law Elvira Tasbach and son Andreas Bödecker in a statement to the Humboldt Forum Foundation that was disseminated by a lawyer on Wednesday. The letter has been submitted to the German Press Agency. The statements made known by the Kassel professor for architectural theory, Philipp Oswalt, were previously unknown to them.
In a guest article for the daily newspaper »Der Tagesspiegel«, Oswalt analyzed Ehrhardt Bödecker's publications.
According to the article, Bödecker denied the number of six million Holocaust victims.
He expressed understanding for the practice of excluding Jews from the army and administration during the German Empire.
In addition, Bödecker maintained contacts with the New Right.
In the joint statement, the family confirmed that Böckler had in some cases presented or published the theses mentioned in places that belonged to right-wing extremist circles.
“This realization is painful and we are deeply saddened.
We both reject anti-Semitism and historical revisionism out of deep conviction and with determination, «writes the couple.
"Unacceptable Theses"
At the same time, they refer to the merits of Ehrhardt and Anneliese Bödecker in many areas, both of whom have been dead for several years. You call Bödecker a "militant conservative and Prussian enthusiast with numerous merits." The Humboldt Forum Foundation “does not want to be expected to weigh up the recognized lifetime achievement of a sponsor and the unacceptable theses expressed by him at the end of his life,” it says in the letter. The portrait medallion in the foyer should therefore be removed.
The foundation wanted to have the honor checked externally. Then it should be decided how to deal with the donation ceremony. The Humboldt Forum emphasized that it "in no way" shared the researched opinions on militaristic Prussia and empire, on war and the Holocaust, and was "clearly against any form of the minimization of violence, discrimination, marginalization or racism."
In the Humboldt Forum, major donors are honored if they request a tiered concept.
The center for culture and science, which cost around 680 million euros, could only come into being because a private initiative collected a good 100 million euros in donations for the highly controversial reconstruction of the baroque palace facade.
The no less criticized dome with the originally not intended cross is financed from donations.
The approximately 40,000 square meter building in the heart of Berlin is shared by two museums of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the State of Berlin, the Humboldt University and the Humboldt Forum Foundation.
Exhibits from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania as well as objects on the history of Berlin are shown.
ime / dpa