Hochstrasse cemetery (Braunschweig)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View of the Hochstrasse cemetery
Entrance to the memorial
Memorial to victims of National Socialism
Crosses for the murdered infants
Grave slab with the names of the murdered infants

The Hochstrasse cemetery in the eastern ring area in Braunschweig is a historic cemetery that was laid out in 1797. It was once the cemetery of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Nicolai (today's parish of St. Aegidien ) and was once called the Catholic cemetery and was also referred to in relation to the parish of Nicolaifriedhof . It was replaced in 1901 by the new Catholic cemetery on Helmstedter Strasse . Only a few tombstones have survived from the time as a Catholic cemetery. During the Second World War , deceased forced laborers were buried here. The former cemetery, which was laid out on the Giersberg, now serves as a green area and memorial . The water tower on the Giersberg from 1901 is right next to the cemetery .

history

From 1713, the cemetery of the parish of St. Nicolai was located directly next to the Nicolaikirche, which was completed in 1712, between Friesenstrasse and Sandweg (today Magnitorwall). There it was expanded in 1750 with the purchase of a neighboring garden plot on Friesenstrasse. This cemetery could be used until 1796.

In 1796 the pastor bought an acre of arable land on the Giersberg for an annual hereditary interest from the Braunschweig large orphanage . In 1797, the Duke of Brunswick donated a sum to the construction of the new cemetery. The first funeral took place on May 8, 1797. In 1835 half an acre was purchased for expansion. In 1865 the hereditary interest expired and the cemetery became the property of the Catholic community. In 1880 an expansion of the cemetery was supposed to take place, but the application was rejected. A border regulation added 59 square meters in 1887. In 1901 the cemetery was fully occupied and closed for further burials. 6000 people were buried here from 1799 to 1901. In 1901 the new Catholic cemetery opened next to the main cemetery on Helmstedter Strasse.

During the time of National Socialism between November 1942 and the end of 1944 it was used as a burial place for prisoners of war , forced laborers and infants of forced laborers who had perished in Braunschweig . 380 forced laborers were buried here during this period. Most of them died as a result of the inhumane living and working conditions or air raids on the city. They came from Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. 156 children, 149 of them Polish, were buried here. Most of them perished in the maternity hospital for Eastern workers , Broitzemer Strasse 200, from malnutrition and neglect .

In the Catholic cemetery was u. a. the architect and builder Peter Joseph Krahe (1758–1840) is buried. His grave was reburied in 1972 in the Protestant Magnifriedhof on Ottmerstraße, the resting place of several important Brunswick personalities. The tombstones of his relatives were also moved there.

Sculptures by Denis Stuart Rose

In 1995 a group of figures by the artist Denis Stuart Rose was erected to commemorate the forced laborers. In 1996 an artistic competition was announced to create a memorial. In 1999, an artistic jury selected the nominees for this project.

In May 2001, the city of Braunschweig opened the newly designed Hochstrasse cemetery memorial to the public. The cemetery was transformed into a place of mourning and remembrance by a German-Polish group of artists. A central square was created with a heart-shaped sculpture, which is supposed to remind of the suffering of the victims. An information board was set up at the entrance. Stone slabs with names and origins were placed on the burial ground of the forced laborers and individual stone crosses were set up. In the back, where the babies and children were buried, white stone crosses and a large stone tablet with all known names were placed.

literature

Web links

Commons : Friedhof Hochstraße  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinz-Joachim Tute, Norman-Mathias Pingel: Friedhöfe. In: Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon . P. 76.
  2. ↑ Bernhild Vögel: The “ Maternity Home for Eastern Workers.” Braunschweig, Broitzemer Straße 200. Small Historical Library 3, Hamburg Foundation for Social History of the 20th Century, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-927106-02-X ( digitized from 2005 )

Coordinates: 52 ° 15 ′ 50.9 ″  N , 10 ° 32 ′ 15.6 ″  E