Glass cube (memorial in Mannheim)
The glass cube is a modern memorial in the pedestrian zone of Mannheim , which is made of glass and has the shape of a cube . The glass cube was as a local monument to the Jewish victims of Nazism from Mannheim from that in Freiburg living sculptor Jochen Kitzbihler designed and in 2003 to the planks middle of the walk in front of the square built P2.
investment
The memorial consists of a glass cube with an edge length of three meters, which is hollow and transparent and is illuminated in the dark. The cube is rotated 45 degrees horizontally to the course of the planks, so that one axis points to the center of the parade ground . The four vertical side windows have 2280 names that are engraved on the inside and therefore appear on the outside in mirror writing. On the one hand, the list deliberately does not reveal any systematics; on the other hand, the names can only be read through a disk on the opposite inside of the cube in normal script. This concept aims to encourage passers-by to pause and think. A plaque set into the pavement next to it explains that these are the names of the Jewish citizens of Mannheim who fell victim to National Socialism .
history
Mannheim had a rich Jewish life even before it was elevated to the status of a city at the beginning of the 17th century , which had a great influence on the economic, social and cultural development of the city. In 1930 the Jewish community had over 6,000 members, which was more than 5% of the population. Of the 1,244 Jewish companies that existed before the Nazis came to power , 64 remained until March 1, 1939, i.e. In other words, they were still profitable or not yet "Aryanized" . The numerically largest deportations of Jewish Mannheimers took place as part of the Wagner-Bürckel campaign in September 1940.
After modest beginnings after the Second World War with a small synagogue on Maximiliansstraße, the Jewish community in Mannheim now has around 600 members again and since 1987 has again had a large synagogue in the city center.
In the 1990s, survivors of the Mannheim Holocaust victims turned to the city administration with a list of signatures in order to advertise a memorial. In May 2001, after a unanimous decision , the Mannheim City Council launched an artistic competition that was won by the sculptor Jochen Kitzbihler. The technical implementation took place under the direction of the architect Helmut Striffler .
With the names on the memorial, according to the then Mayor Widder on the occasion of the handover of the memorial on November 25, 2003, at least symbolically, the people who were torn from life in the city during the time of National Socialism were returned. Jewish people from Mannheim were threatened and tortured, then deported and finally murdered by the Nazis in the extermination camps . The void created by the glass body in the middle of the busy shopping street illustrates the void they have left.
More memorials in the city
On the station forecourt, an arrow signpost with black lettering on a white background, " Gurs 1170 km", which initially looked very common, reminds of the deportation in 1940.
literature
- Hans-Joachim Hirsch: I called you by your name - the memorial sculpture for the Jewish victims of National Socialism in Mannheim . With contributions by Peter Kurz , Jochen Kitzbihler and Helmut Striffler . Small writings of the Mannheim City Archives No. 23. Verlagbüro v. Brandt, Mannheim 2005, ISBN 3-926260-65-3 .
Web links
- City of Mannheim: memorial for the Jewish victims of National Socialism
- City of Mannheim: Ostliche Planken (area around the monument site, PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of names. City of Mannheim, accessed on February 23, 2014 .
- ↑ Address by the Lord Mayor. City of Mannheim, accessed on February 23, 2014 .
Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 14.69 " N , 8 ° 28 ′ 2.28" E