Simon Oberdorfer

Memorial plaque for Oberdorfer at the Kneitinger restaurant, in the immediate vicinity of the Velodrom

Board about Oberdorfer and the history of the building at the Velodrom

Stumbling blocks for the Oberdorfer couple and their brother-in-law Julius Springer

Simon Oberdorfer (born March 9, 1872 in Regensburg , † April 30, 1943 in Sobibor ) was a Regensburg Jewish merchant (bicycle and car dealer) who was murdered by the National Socialists. As an artistic cyclist, Oberdorfer was the builder and impresario of the Regensburg “Velodrom” , which was initially used as a cycling hall and later as an event center. At the beginning of the 19th century the hall was used as a cinema, after 1974 it served as a set store for the theater and was then saved from demolition through civic engagement. The building was renovated from 1990 to 1996 and has served as a venue for theRegensburg Theater .

Life

The respected Jewish businessman Oberdorfer ran a bicycle shop with a repair shop in Regensburg, later expanded his business with the sale of cars and also ran a driving school. In 1898 Oberdorfer opened on Arnulfsplatz in Regensburg on a piece of land behind house no. 4 an innovative steel girder hall building with a pillarless roof structure and surrounding balconies called the "Velodrom" , supported by fluted columns . At 25 x 35 m, the hall was the largest hall in Regensburg. Oberdorfer, known colloquially as "Simmerl", was a highly respected and popular businessman in his time. He had founded the Wanderer-Radler-Verein in 1891, was also an artistic cyclist and performed very popular cycling tricks with the club in the Velodrom. Soon the hall was also used as a stage and event hall, where social democrats could gather, for whom no hall was otherwise made available in the clerical-conservative city. In 1904 Georg von Vollmar gave a much-noticed speech in front of an audience of 1,300, and Kurt Eisner , Erhard Auer and Toni Pfülf also spoke more often in the Velodrom. In 1929 Oberdorfer had the Velodrom converted into the “Capitol Cinema”, which existed until 1974.

Escape and murder

In 1939 he fled together with his wife Hedwig Oberdorfer (* 1878, nee Springer) and his brother-in-law Julius Springer, initially on the refugee ship St. Louis , whose refugees were not allowed to leave Havana . Eventually they came to the Netherlands and lived in Naarden near Amsterdam until 1943 . In April 1943 Oberdorfer and his relatives were deported to the Sobibor extermination camp , where they were murdered on April 30, 1943.

Commemoration

In Regensburg today two memorial plaques commemorate Oberdorfer, one directly at the Velodrom, which is now part of the theater, and one at the Kneitinger restaurant , behind which the Velodrom is located. On October 15, 2017, the square in front of the Velodrom was named after Simon Oberdorfer.

literature

Günter Schiessl: Simon Oberdorfers Velodrom: On the trail of a Regensburg citizen. 2nd Edition. 1998, ISBN 3-9807028-4-7 .
Christiane Bartosch: The Velodrome: the history of a Regensburg building. (Ed. By the planning and building department of the city of Regensburg), City of Regensburg, planning and building department, Regensburg 2000, DNB 959253645 .
Susanne Hansch: variety dancers, salon humorists and excentric cyclists. the Regensburg Variety Theater Velodrom. Edition Vulpes, Regensburg 2000, ISBN 3-9807028-1-2 . (Studies on Regensburg City Culture, Volume 1, also: Regensburg, Univ., Master's thesis, 1993)
Joseph Berlinger : Hope Havana. The odyssey of the Regensburg art cyclist Simon Oberdorfer. LOhrBär-Verlag, Regensburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-939529-02-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 411 f .
^ New in Regensburg - the Simon-Oberdorfer-Platz. In: social.shorthand - City of Regensburg. October 15, 2017, accessed October 16, 2018 .

personal data
SURNAME	Oberdorfer, Simon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German entrepreneur, artistic cyclist and victim of the Holocaust
DATE OF BIRTH	March 9, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH	regensburg
DATE OF DEATH	April 30, 1943
Place of death	Sobibor

[Bauer1-1] A ^b Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 411 f .

[shorthan-283-2] New in Regensburg - the Simon-Oberdorfer-Platz. In: social.shorthand - City of Regensburg. October 15, 2017, accessed October 16, 2018 .