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The Project

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Memorial Signs for the victims of the Nazi Regime

Memorial Signs commemorate people who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis in the years between 1933 and 1945. More than 10,000 women, men, and children lost their lives in Munich during the Nazi dictatorship because of racist, political, and religious persecution, because of their sexual orientation, their real or alleged illnesses or their non-conformist behaviour. With the Memorial Signs, we are giving the victims of Nazi persecution, most of whom are forgotten today, at least a symbolic place back in our urban society, at their former residences or former places of work, from which they were once brutally removed.

The Memorial Signs are a project of the City of Munich. They are based on the designs of the Munich designer Prof. Kilian Stauss. Memorial Signs are made of brushed stainless steel and are gold-plated. They are available in two versions - as wall plaques on buildings and as steles on public ground. They present essential biographical data, information about the persecution and the fate, and - if available - also a portrait of the person. Texts and pictures are laser cut into the metal. The information can also be felt through the perforated surface.

Initiating Memorial Signs

The web of remembrance is tightened with each new memorial sign. Memorial Signs are only installed upon application. The Public History division of the Department for Arts and Culture of the City of Munich is responsible for the processing of all applications.

Anyone can initiate a memorial sign. Many applications are made by relatives or friends of the affected families, by current residents and homeowners, students and members of the city council. Often it is also institutions, organisations and associations, such as companies and building cooperatives, history workshops or the district committees that get involved.

One can apply for a Memorial Sign for persons, who lost their lives as a result of Nazi persecution and who lived within the current geographical boundaries of the City of Munich between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945, as well as for people who lost their lives in Munich as a result of Nazi persecution.

Cases of doubt are decided by an expert advisory board. This applies in principle to all functionaries of the Nazi regime as well as members of the NSDAP and its branches who became victims of the Nazi regime.

For each person a separate informal application must be submitted, containing the following information (as far as known):

 

  • the person’s details (surname, first name, name at birth, date of birth, and place of birth),
  • the circumstances of persecution and death, and
  • the date and place of death.

 

The details of married couples and parents with their children can be combined in one application. Send your application by post, or per email to the coordination office for Memorial Signs:

 

Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München
Public History
Burgstraße 4
80331 München
Email: erinnerungszeichen@muenchen.de

A gold-plated memorial sign costs € 600, the stainless-steel steles and plaques on which they are mounted cost € 1,200. The cost for one memorial sign at one location is therefore € 1,800. The cost for two memorial signs at one location is € 2,400.

Applicants are free to decide whether and how much they want to contribute to the costs. The City of Munich will pay the remaining amount. The installation and the cleaning of Memorial Signs are also paid for by the City of Munich.

Become Part of the Project

People from all walks of life get involved around the Memorial Signs:

The members of the ErinnerungsWerkstatt München e.V. research and write life stories of Munich victims of the Nazi regime. At several Munich schools, biographies are being researched in seminars under the guidance of Public History Munich. Trainees at GEWOFAG, Munich's largest housing association, research the former tenants of GEWOFAG. Various history initiatives are working on the life stories of Nazi victims in their districts, and the theater Münchner Kammerspiele is researching the stories of persecuted employees. Relatives of victims, Munich homeowners, and residents are also active.

Memorial Signs are results of the work of all of these projects. You too can take part in the commemoration of the Munich victims of Nazi regime. Contact us if you want to find out about a project near you.

 

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to contribute to the cost for a memorial sign or if you would like to participate in the project by making a donation. As a sponsor of one or more Memorial Signs, you can also pay for the cleaning and maintenance of the Memorial Signs.

"Give remembrance names" demanded Saul Friedländer when he accepted the Geschwister Scholl Prize for his book "Nazi Germany and the Jews" in 1998. More than twenty years later, we know most of the names of those children, women and men who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis in Germany between 1933 and 1945. Beyond that, however, we usually know very little about their lives.

In 2018, people interested in history came together to form the workshop Geschichtswerkstatt München, and in October 2020 it was founded as an association. In the spirit of Saul Friedländer, the victims should not only be given a name, but their stories should also be told and published on the website of the association.

 

Are you interested in joining us? Feel free to come to our public meetings. Previous experience is not necessary. We meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6.00 pm in the Filmsaal (2nd floor) of Stadtarchiv München. Or visit one of our events, admission is free.

 

Contact: info@erinnerungswerkstatt-muenchen.de

The coordination office for Memorial Signs

The division Public History of the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich is responsible for the Memorial Signs. It processes all applications and helps the initiators with their research.

As a basis for the recording of the names of all the victims of the Nazi regime, Public History Munich maintains a database and organises topic-specific events such as seminars, workshops or colloquia in close cooperation with associations, schools and educational and remembrance organisations.

Advisory Board

The co-ordination office for Memorial Signs is assisted by an advisory board which acts as a counsel regarding fundamental project issues and makes binding decisions in controversial individual cases. The Advisory Board consists of the following scientists and members of the political groups represented in the City Council (as of 1 July 2023):

 

The advisory board consists of the following scientists as well as members of political parties represented in the city council (as of 1 July 2023):

Memorial Signs in other cities

More and more cities and communities opt for Memorial Signs in their search for a dignified form of decentralised commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime on eye level. The City of Munich welcomes this interest in the project. Together with the creator of the commemorative signs, Prof. Kilian Stauss, we promote the installation of Memorial Signs in other cities. There are already Memorial Signs outside of Munich, in Ingolstadt and Oldenburg. Feel free to contact us, we will be happy to help you set up Memorial Signs for the victims the Nazi regime in your city as well.

Memorial Signs Ingolstadt

Memorial Signs Oldenburg