Bad Wurzach Castle
The Bad Wurzach Castle , and Schloss Wurzach or Wurzacher Castle called, is a cultural monument and symbol of the city Bad Wurzach in the Upper Swabian district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg . The baroque staircase from 1728 is remarkable.
The Baden-Württemberg Monument Foundation named the castle Monument of the Month for May 2009 .
history
The castle was built between 1723 and 1728 by Count Ernst Jakob Truchsess von Waldburg-Zeil -Wurzach. For two centuries it was the residence of the Wurzach line of the aristocratic family and developed into a center of courtly music and painting. 1922 bought Salvatorian the Wurzacher castle and built in a Latin school with boys internat . Operations started in 1924 and the new school grew very quickly.
On November 28, 1937, the Salvatorkolleg was forbidden to accept additional students due to the National Socialist educational policy. Soon it had to stop its school operations and the large building was practically empty. In September 1940, the Biberach Army Site Administration rented the castle for use as a prison camp. From 1940 to 1945, Wurzach Castle was the location of three camps and then part of the National Socialist camp system. There was also a so-called military training camp in the castle park . The prisoners in Wurzach were relatively safe. They were liberated by the French army on April 28, 1945.
Wurzach was the location of three officer camps (Oflag) of the Wehrmacht :
- Oflag VC, from September 1940 to May 1942, subordinated commander of prisoners of war in military district V.
- Oflag VD, from December 1942, subordinated to the commander of the prisoners of war in military district V.
- Oflag 55, from May 1942 to April 1, 1944
POW camp
It was initially used as a prisoner-of-war camp (Oflag VC) for French officers after it was forced to close in 1940 . Between the beginning of 1941 and mid-1942, 500 to 600 prisoners of war were housed in the castle and in five barracks in the castle garden. After the camp was closed in autumn 1942, the prisoners were transferred to other camps. The camp reached its maximum occupancy in March 1941 with 804 French prisoners of war and 210 guards. In November 1942, the army site administration canceled the contract to rent the castle, but at that time the castle was already being used for another purpose.
Internment camp
At the end of the western campaign , the British Channel Islands were occupied by the German Air Force on June 30, 1940. A German civil administration took over the archipelago, established a civil administration there, and the islands were expanded into impregnable fortresses. In September 1941, the British authorities had asked the Persian government to extradite German citizens who were working against the Allies. As a countermeasure, Adolf Hitler ordered all English-born residents of the Channel Islands to be taken hostage and deported . The deportation took place in September 1942, they were taken to Oflag VI Dorsten , southwest of Münster in Westphalia, and finally to various camps in southern Germany. Because the Lindele camp in Biberach was overcrowded, 186 men and 411 women and children were transferred to the Wurzach satellite camp, Ilag ( internment camp ) VC , on October 31, 1942 . The first transport from Jersey arrived there on September 16, 1942 . On October 31, 1942, the citizens of Jersey were transferred to Wurzach by special train, unusually 2nd class. At this point the old building was filthy, the beds were damp, and plaster was falling from the walls and ceilings.
A jumble of responsibilities for the internment camp in the castle arose between the Reich authorities and local institutions. After a few weeks under the guard of the Wehrmacht, the administration of the camp was handed over to the Württemberg Ministry of the Interior on December 1, 1942. The guard units of the Wehrmacht were withdrawn and replaced by police from the guard battalion of the Ravensburg police force. The camp commandant became the foreman and later lieutenant of the security police, Martin Riedesser. At no time were SS guards deployed, even if the central decision-making authority over the internment camp was in the hands of the Reichsführer SS and chief of the German police in the Reich Ministry of the Interior . The central instructions therefore came from the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin. As a rule, however, employees of the legal department of the Foreign Office, who had found alternative accommodation in Liebenau, and an employee of the Württemberg Ministry of the Interior took care of the internees.
It becomes clear that, unlike many other harassed groups, the British were privileged prisoners. The Geneva Convention for the Protection of Prisoners was observed by the local camp management and also by the higher authorities where possible. The camp was monitored by international organizations until the end of the war, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the prisoner-of-war aid of the YMCA and observers from the protective power of Switzerland. Parcels came regularly from the ICRC . There were also friendly contacts with the local population. The more than 600 civilian internees were granted camp self-government. Although they were poorly fed, they received a monthly pocket money of 10 Reichsmarks, were allowed to receive food parcels, had medical care and worked in the care and maintenance of order in the camp. A cultural life and care for children and young people also developed. There were twelve deaths and five births by 1945. Individual internees were allowed to return to Jersey from Wurzach as "cases of hardship".
According to research by Gisela Rothenhäusler, the correct camp manager on site could no longer gain a foothold after the war; his superior in the SS Reich Security Main Office made a veritable career in Adenauer Germany.
Jewish prisoners from Bergen-Belsen
In the winter of 1944/45 the castle finally served as a stopover for 72 Jewish prisoners from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp . Those who were transferred from Bergen-Belsen to Wurzach in November 1944 were Dutch Jews who, in addition to Dutch, also had British or American citizenship or at least papers from South and Central American countries, and who were " exchange Jews " in negotiations German nationals should be used in Allied care. They were brought from Bergen-Belsen in two transports to southern Germany in autumn and winter, in order to be exchanged for German citizens in Allied hands via Switzerland. But part of the group had to leave the train in Ravensburg without giving the reasons . However, they were not transported back to Bergen-Belsen, but distributed to the Württemberg internment camps in Liebenau, Biberach and Wurzach. According to reports from the Jersey internees, upon arrival the newcomers were in poor condition, starved and frightened. Due to the better diet and the additional Red Cross packages, they recovered relatively quickly and, with one exception, were liberated in Wurzach.
Castle complex
The balanced three-wing complex opens out towards the city in the shape of a horseshoe.
The center of the middle wing is the staircase by an unknown master builder, which is considered to be a highlight of the Upper Swabian Baroque architecture. The sandstone staircase leads elegantly upwards around a three-pass core. It is built using a backdrop architecture technique with steps down to the top and stone (marble, alabaster) pretending to be framed wooden parts, which from the entrance simulate a wide and imposing perspective. The ceiling fresco depicts the Olympic heaven of gods . The stairwell served as a meeting place for British internees during World War II and was nicknamed " Marble Arch " by them .
In the right wing of the castle is the castle chapel with the choir window by Clemens Hillebrand .
Todays use
In the west wing there are apartments suitable for senior citizens, which are connected to the neighboring nursing home Stift zum Holy Spirit . The upper level of the Salvatorkolleg grammar school is also located in the castle, as is a special train to promote particularly talented young people. The Institute for Social Professions (IfsB) trains students in the east wing for curative education and care for the elderly. The order of the Salvatorians is also still at home in the castle. In 2006, a banquet area was opened in the castle, which enables events and conferences in the castle. The baroque staircase is the official registry office of the city of Bad Wurzach.
Bad Wurzach Castle Cultural Monument Foundation
The Bad Wurzach Castle Cultural Monument Foundation was established in 2004 and has owned the castle ever since. The foundation has made it its business to preserve the listed castle permanently and to open it to the public.
Remarks
- ↑ a b c d Oswald Burger: Bad Wurzach in the war. Upper Swabian history . In: Südkurier from November 6, 2008
- ↑ a b c Barbara Miller: Book presentation: The Wurzach Castle 1940 to 1945. Recognizing the big in the small . In: Schwäbische Zeitung from November 20, 2008
- ↑ See Rothenhäusler (2008) pp. 158f.
- ↑ See Rothenhäusler (2008) pp. 313–326.
literature
- Father Leonhard Berchtold: National Socialism and Salvatorkolleg Wurzach . In: Annual booklet (Gymnasium Salvatorkolleg Bad Wurzach) , (2006) 21, pp. 103–118.
- Gisela Rothenhäusler: The Wurzach Castle and its checkered history during the Second World War . In: In the Oberland . (2006) Issue 1, pp. 3-9.
- Gisela Rothenhäusler: The Wurzach Castle 1940–1945. A small chapter in European history. Prisoners of war in Oflag VC. Jersey internees. Jewish prisoners from Bergen-Belsen . Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2008. ISBN 978-3-89870-502-8
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 54 ′ 32 " N , 9 ° 53 ′ 47" E