"Stolpersteine" and "Dark Night": This is how Penzberg commemorates the murder night victims of April 28, 1945

Created: 04/10/2022, 08:02

By: Wolfgang Schorner

The graves of the Penzberg murder night are located in the municipal cemetery.

© Wolfgang Schorner

The names of the Penzberg murder night victims of April 28, 1945 are immortalized in "stumbling blocks".

The artist Gunter Demnig, who since 1966 has been laying stones like this to commemorate – mainly Jewish – victims of National Socialism, comes to Penzberg especially for this purpose.

On Friday, the city presented the program that commemorates the events 77 years ago this year.

Penzberg – A year ago, the city announced that “stumbling blocks” would be laid this year to commemorate the 16 victims of the murder night.

At the time, there were differing opinions on the decision in the city council.

The view was expressed that the stones embedded in the sidewalk were being trampled on, a criticism shared by the former chairwoman of the Central Council of Jews, Charlotte Knobloch.

Munich had therefore decided against "stumbling blocks".

The Penzberg city council also said that the "stumbling blocks" were a good sign.

In the end, the stones were voted for.

"Stumbling blocks" not at the crime scenes, but at the former places of residence

According to Thomas Sendl, city hall spokesman and head of the cultural department, the "stumbling blocks" are not laid at the crime scenes, but in front of the places where the victims last lived.

The registry office determined the former addresses, which was not easy.

For example, one victim lived in a shanty town in Fischhaber that no longer exists.

According to Sendl, this stone is embedded in the cemetery.

14 more will be relocated in front of the former residences.

In addition, they asked in Sindelsdorf where Michael Schwertl lived.

Stumbling blocks to commemorate Nazi victims: initiator Gunter Demnig, here in Mannheim.

© Stefan Puchner/dpa

The artist Demnig will come to Penzberg on April 27 to lay three stones himself.

The public is invited to this.

The 74-year-old will leave a stone on Mayor-Rummer-Strasse, where Hans Rummer once lived.

The building yard lays the other stones.

Commemoration of the murder night

On Wednesday, April 27th, the stumbling blocks will be laid in memory of the victims of the night of murder.

Initiator Gunter Demnig will lay three stones himself.

Meeting point is at 4 p.m. in the town square.

On Thursday, April 28, at 5 p.m., the SPD invites you to the monument "An der Freiheit".

Clemens Meikis and Klaus Barthel spoke.

Afterwards, the peace march takes us to the municipal cemetery.

There, at 6 p.m., the wreath-laying ceremony at the graves of honor will follow with a speech by Mayor Stefan Korpan and a prayer for peace.

On Thursday from 7 p.m. there will be a commemorative event in the town hall: with a film by Günter Bergel about the night of the murder and a reading by Kirsten Boie from her book "Dunkelnacht".

She will then take part in a panel discussion with Mayor Korpan, former mayor Hans Mummert and the students Jan Roentgen, Jasmin Banani and Lukas Hezel.

According to the city, the public is invited to all events.

A bus will be used between the venues.

Several events are planned for the commemoration day on April 28th.

Actually, there should have been a big commemoration in 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the night of the murder.

It had to be canceled due to the corona pandemic.

As a substitute, wind instruments played the Steigerlied at 16 locations in Penzberg.

Last year a bronze plaque with the names of the victims was unveiled on the edge of the town square.

The 2020 program has been further developed, explained Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU) on Friday.

It's important to wake up, he said.

How quickly something like that on the night of the murder can happen is not far away in Ukraine.

In the town hall: Bergel film and Boie book

On April 28, after the commemoration at the “An der Freiheit” monument, after the peace march and wreath-laying ceremony, there will be an event in the town hall.

Günter Bergel's Mordnacht film will be shown there for the first time.

Kirsten Boie will also read from her book "Dunkelnacht".

She had already spoken about this in July 2021 with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Penzberg students (we reported).

Three students will now also be discussing in the town hall with Boie, Mayor Korpan and former Mayor Hans Mummert: about commemoration and remembrance in the present and in the future.