Eschweiler history association

Archive of the EGV

The Eschweiler Geschichtsverein eV (EGV) was founded in Eschweiler in 1974 and is the successor to the History Association for Eschweiler and the surrounding area , which existed from 1920 until the Second World War . In 1928 the Eschweiler Heimatmuseum was opened in the Bergvogteihaus, whose valuable exhibits and exhibition rooms were lost in the chaos of war and the occupation by American troops in autumn 1944. Most of the exhibits were looted or destroyed.

Start-up

On March 14, 1974, 31 interested citizens met in the municipal grammar school for the "first meeting regarding the establishment of an Eschweiler history association". They elected a committee of four from among their ranks to prepare the establishment: Bernhard Sperlich, Ferdinand Bongart, Hanns Ortmanns and Simon Küpper . The founding meeting took place on April 29th at the Hotel St. Peter in Schnellengasse in the old town of Eschweiler , with 63 people signing up on the list of founders. First chairman became city director i. R. Bernhard Sperlich. The current chairman has been Simon Küpper for many years.

The newsletter has been published six times a year since 1976.

Due to constant growth, the EGV is now Eschweiler's association with the largest number of members. When it was founded in 1974 there were 63 members, 155 in 1975, then 179 in 1976 and then 206 in 1977. In the anniversary year 1999 there were 906, and currently there are over 1000.

Several working groups focus on the association's work. They are devoted to the subject areas of “Historical Sources and Publications”, “History of Industrial and Commercial Areas”, “Archeology and Romans”, family research, dialect as well as district research Pumpen-Stich and Weisweiler . The extensive archive has been housed in the Eschweiler town hall on Johannes-Rau-Platz since September 2006.

Literature (selection)

Series of publications by the Eschweiler History Association (28 volumes up to the beginning of 2012), Eschweiler History Association,
- The first volume of the "Series of publications of the Eschweiler Geschichtsverein" appeared in 1978 with an edition of 1,500 copies. The current volume is number 28 from 2012. All of the volumes comprise 2801 pages. Three volumes are exclusively dedicated to the dialect Eischwiele Platt : Volume 8 with poems by Matthias Römer, Volume 10 with poems by Heinz Gierden and Volume 18 with poems, reports and swear words from various authors. Volume 14 contains the "History of the City of Eschweiler in Data" compiled by Adam Elsen from 1800 to 1993, and Volume 15 contains reports from Eschweiler citizens about experiences during the evacuation period from autumn 1944 to 1945 under the title "50 years ago they had to leave their homeland" .
Wilhelm Bender: Eschweiler during the occupation 1918 to 1929, Verlag Eschweiler Geschichtsverein, 1991
"At os doheem", Eschweiler History Association, 1992
Heinz Viehöver: Eschweiler local history of the Nazi era, Verlag Eschweiler Geschichtsverein, 2002 ISBN 3-9803354-3-7
Leo Braun: Eschweiler dialect dictionary -Wie me at os sprich-, Verlag Eschweiler Geschichtsverein, 2003 ISBN 3-9803354-5-3
From the Rhineland to the Holy Land - Memories of Julius Kaufmann-Kadmon from Eschweiler 1887–1955, Verlag Eschweiler Geschichtsverein, 2004
- It tells of the life of Julius Kaufmann, born in Eschweiler in 1887, from the Jewish Kaufmann family, who have their roots in Langerwehe and Weisweiler , moved to Eschweiler in 1880 and ran the Gebrüder Kaufmann men's clothing store. Julius Kaufmann was involved in the Zionist movement and published the Jewish magazine Die Freistatt . He took part in the First World War as a volunteer. In 1934 the Kaufmann family emigrated to what was then the British mandate of Palestine, today's Israel, where Julius took the name Kadmon. This book is both an important testimony to German-Jewish contemporary history and an important source on the local history of Eschweiler.
Leo Braun: Street names in Eschweiler, Verlag Eschweiler Geschichtsverein, 2005 ISBN 3-9803354-7-X