Deportation memorial at the slaughterhouse ramp

The slaughterhouse ramp deportation memorial seen from the north

Memorial from the south with a view of the trees

The slaughterhouse ramp deportation memorial in the Hessian state capital Wiesbaden commemorates the deportations of Jewish citizens of the city during the time of National Socialism . It is located on the slaughterhouse's former cattle loading ramp, which was used for the deportations at the time.

background

Shortly after the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists in the spring of 1933, the first Jewish citizens of Wiesbaden fell victim to assassinations. Ninety Jews were first deported to Poland at the end of October 1938 . On November 10, 1938, during the November pogroms , the homes and businesses of Jewish citizens as well as the Wiesbaden synagogues were burned down or demolished.

While before 1933 over 3,000 people of Jewish faith lived in Wiesbaden, at the beginning of 1942 only around 1,000 so-called “full Jews” were registered. On May 23, 1942, 27 Jews were deported. A second deportation of around 380 people followed on June 10. The third deportation in 1942 took place on September 1st. About 370 people were brought to the Theresienstadt ghetto . In the period that followed, a few smaller deportations were carried out, often by individuals. Around a hundred Jewish people in Wiesbaden saw no way out and committed suicide during those years . When Wiesbaden was liberated in the spring of 1945, about twenty Jews were still living in Wiesbaden. Half of the more than 3,000 people of Jewish faith or of Jewish origin who lived in Wiesbaden before 1933 fell victim to the National Socialist extermination program.

The memorial

Memorial from the north with a photo of the deportation

Photo on the west wall of the memorial

The memorial is based on a design by the artist Vollrad Kutscher. A chestnut avenue leads to the preserved wall of a demolished factory building of the former Fauth company at the former cattle loading ramp. This wall carries a picture created by the spray artist Yorkar7 showing a deportation scene; A photo taken during the deportations served as a template.

The planting bowls in which the chestnuts are inserted show fragments of text in a wide variety of lettering, mostly taken from letters from deportees. The memorial is flanked by an information stele.