Eva Knapp

Gravestone of Eva Knapp in the main cemetery in Gotha ( location )

Eva Knapp (born April 25, 1923 ; † July 31, 1930 , presumably in Gotha ) was a working class child who had to die at the age of seven due to a lack of funds for adequate medical treatment. The life story of Eva Knapp is a warning that such a fate will not be repeated.

Like other children around her, Eva Knapp fell ill with tuberculosis . The family could not raise the necessary money for medical treatment. In addition, the successful fight against this disease was still in the early years.

A closer look at the gravestone reveals erased entries: Here the fate of the innocent child becomes visible, who became the plaything of opposing ideologies. Originally there was a Soviet star on top of her tombstone. The gravestone also said that she had been a young pioneer and had died as a result of a proletarian disease and that she could not become a Bolshevik fighter for the cause of the working class . The parents' refusal to change this inscription meant the threat of imprisonment and a fine. Many people found the inscription a public nuisance. Ultimately, the police removed the Soviet star and text from the tombstone. It still stands today as a memorial in the main cemetery in Gotha .