A small Ukraine in the south of Regensburg
Created: 07/19/2022, 21:00
By: Michael Bothner
The Ganghofersiedlung shortly after its construction.
© Europaeum University of Regensburg
Almost 2,000 Ukrainian women who fled from the war are currently living in Regensburg.
What many people don't know is that many people from Ukraine have already sought refuge here.
Regensburg
- The Ganghofersiedlung in the south of the city of Regensburg has gone through several eras since it was built in 1939.
The Nazis once planned to house the workers of the Regensburg Messerschmitt works under the name "Göring-Heim".
The shack-like architecture and arrangement of the houses, which are a bit reminiscent of barracks, is therefore hardly surprising - even if most of the houses have been renovated.
After World War II: “Göring-Heim” became the Ganghofersiedlung
"I don't really know of a settlement like this in any other German city," says Professor Walter Koschmal.
Koschmal teaches Slavic Studies at the University of Regensburg and he is primarily concerned with a phase of the Ganghofer settlement, which began immediately after the Second World War.
Because six years after the construction of "Göring-Heim" came the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
Regensburg fell under US control.
The residents had to give way.
The area was renamed Ganghofersiedlung and became a camp for Displaced Persons (DP) – homeless foreigners who fled Eastern Europe after the end of the war.
Most of the people who came to Regensburg came from the Ukraine – 5,000 of them lived here at the top.
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Ukrainians in the Ganhofer settlement: a war criminal also lived here
Ukraine was occupied by Nazi Germany for a long time.
Not everyone was bothered by that. Many preferred Hitler to Stalin, also because there was hope that an independent state might be built under the Nazis.
Some became part of the Nazi apparatus, for example making a career as a concentration camp guard.
So does John Demjanjuk, who was convicted in Munich in 2011 of being an accessory to the murder of 28,060 people in the Sobibor death camp.
In 1947 Demjanjuk lived briefly in the Ganghofer settlement.
"Of course we know that people who cooperated with the Nazis also lived here," says Koschmal.
That is "not a question at all".
The head of the Europaeum at the University of Regensburg refers to later letters and texts from Ukrainians who, looking back, described their time in the DP camp as downright heavenly and as one of the "most beautiful times of their lives".
“Good old Regensburg” has been read again and again, says Koschmal.
Regensburg offered plenty of space for war refugees
At some point, through his work, he also came across the history of the Ganghofer settlement and how it became a “small Ukraine” on the southern edge of the cathedral city for a few years.
Because Regensburg was largely spared and preserved during the war, the city offered a comparatively large amount of space and living space.
While many memories survive among the former Ukrainian residents of the Ganghofersiedlung near Regensburg, "make no mention of the time before that".
"It was simply suppressed." Koschmal speaks of an "undefined fear of talking about this time".
Therefore, it cannot be clarified how many of those who fled to Regensburg had previously made deals with the Nazis.
Most of them, however, were probably forced labourers.
They fled from the Soviet Union after the end of the war.
Came to Regensburg and faced an uncertain future.
The small Ukraine in the south of Regensburg existed for five years
Among the 5,000 people who lived here was Bohdan Z. Malaniak.
While working in New York in 2014, Koschmal came across an old film.
"Striving for dignity" - striving for dignity - is the name of the strip.
They are recordings from 1947, coupled with Malaniak's romanticized, pathetic memories of his youth in the Ganghofersiedlung.
The approximately half-hour film is a unique - if not entirely objective - contemporary document about Regensburg, the post-war period and Displaced Persons, says Koschmal.
In addition, this film is not known at all in Ukraine.
But even in Regensburg, where the film was shown for the first time in 2015, many are still unaware of the “little Ukraine” that existed between 1945 and 1950.
Small Ukraine in Regensburg: There were even postage stamps
At that time, a small microcosm of its own had developed in the Ganghofersiedlung.
"Many well-known Ukrainian artists of the time lived and worked here," reports Koschmal.
There was a rich social life, sporting activities.
There was a pharmacy, a hospital, and even a post office.
Special stamps were needed to communicate with other DP camps.
They were produced in our own print shop.
According to letters from that time, the “best teachers of all” at the grammar school initially taught mainly Ukrainian.
According to Koschmal, there was still hope of returning home soon.
"From 1947, however, we know that English was increasingly taught." More and more people were drawn overseas, as there was no future in the East with Stalin.
Small Ukraine in Regensburg: Many unanswered questions
In the early 1950s, the camp in Regensburg was closed.
Many of the people displaced shortly after the war moved back into their homes.
However, not all Ukrainians emigrated to the USA at the time.
About a thousand, Koschmal estimates, stayed in Regensburg and the surrounding area.
You don't know exactly.
And certainly not what has become of these people.
Today the area operates under the name "Green Center" and was completely renovated for 130 million euros.
A lot has changed.
Little reminds of the past.
"However, there are still many unanswered questions," says Koschmal.
(Michael Bothner)
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