Otto Damerau

Otto Damerau (born April 15, 1877 in Bad Flinsberg , † March 2, 1961 in Hoyerswerda ) was a German postal inspector, monument curator and curator of the Hoyerswerda local history museum. On August 15, 1953, he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Hoyerswerda.

Life

Encouraged by the discovery of a stone hammer, he undertook the first archaeological excavations in a village near Sprottau at the age of 25 . Damerau was from January 1, 1914 telegraph district construction manager and from 1921 telegraph inspector in Hoyerswerda, after 1945 head of the cultural office at the district office of Hoyerswerda. As a hobby archaeologist and ground monument conservator, he made rescue excavations in open-cast mining aprons and thus created the basis for the local museum by securing an extensive collection of ceramics from the Bronze Age . In 1924 he was together with Dr. Noack, Ringpfeil, Vogt and Pastor Unger co-founders of the Society for Local Studies . In 1932, at his instigation by the Society for Local History, the local history museum was opened on May 22, 1932 in the house at 8 Burgplatz. Damerau was director there from 1942, after the war-related closure it was reopened in October 1945. With Damerau's help, the museum moved into the castle in 1952 . As an autodidact, over time he acquired specialist knowledge that even impressed the higher-ranking museums and state offices, so that many of his finds were allowed to remain in Hoyerswerda. As head of the cultural office after 1945, he was also commissioned to record and secure the art objects that had been preserved in the mansions in the area.

A self-made model of an early historical hut, a plaque dedicated to the Society for Local History and a copy of his certificate of appointment as museum director, his association membership card and his ID as a nature conservation officer are on display in the city museum.

Honors

For his life's work, he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Hoyerswerda in 1953. In 1991 a street in Hoyerswerda was renamed after him. His grave has not been preserved. Otto Damerau was one of the last people to be buried in the old cemetery, today's King-Haus-Park.

Web links

• The man who created a museum. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . March 2, 2011
• Hoyerswerda City Museum