Way of Liberation

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Station 1 at Fürstenwall 74
Station 2 at Jürgensplatz

The Path of Liberation is a history project in the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital Düsseldorf and in the district town of Mettmann . It commemorates the local resistance against National Socialism at the end of the Second World War and the liberation of the city of Düsseldorf in April 1945 . It is also a decentralized memorial that commemorates the time of National Socialism .

Historical background

In April 1945, Düsseldorf, a city on the front lines since the beginning of March, was one of the last cities in the Ruhr basin . American troops had both liberated the left bank of the Rhine from National Socialism and surrounded Düsseldorf from the north and south-west. US combat units were already in Mettmann and Hilden . On April 16, 1945, an act of resistance took place in Düsseldorf, the so-called Aktion Rheinland , which had been initiated by a group of Düsseldorf citizens to avoid the final destruction of Düsseldorf and to hand the city over to the Americans without a fight. Actors were the police officer Franz Juergens , the citizens Aloys Odenthal and Karl August Wiedenhofen as well as the fanatical National Socialist August Korreng , who as SS brigade leader and police chief wanted to defend the city at all costs.

Odenthal and Wiedenhofen managed to get through to Mettmann with a police car and later on foot, with the surrender documents in their pockets, and negotiated with the US troops there in a provisional field camp (town hall on Neanderstraße). They were successful and were able to persuade the officers to take Düsseldorf without a fight and thus to spare the civilian population. The rest of the group around Franz Juergens was betrayed, “convicted” in a court martial and shot on the night of April 17th. Düsseldorf was liberated at noon that day - without any combat action (see Aktion Rheinland ).

Project

Various projects at the Düsseldorf Memorial (2004–2008) as well as the demands of citizens and local politicians from several Düsseldorf district representations finally led to the idea of ​​making the journey from Odenthal and Wiedenhofen publicly visible and comprehensible through six memorial steles in German and English , which lead from the police headquarters in Düsseldorf in Unterbilk to Mettmann. At the six stations, various dramatic events are described that occurred along the way until the two negotiators finally reached their destination at risk of death.

inauguration

On April 17, 2011, the road to liberation was inaugurated by Lord Mayor Dirk Elbers with a ceremony in the police headquarters and thus presented to the public. Children and grandchildren of the resistance fighters at the time were present. Students from the Franz Jürgens Vocational College organized the celebration.

Path of Liberation - Stations

  • Station 1: Lauxtermann apartment on Fürstenwall 74

“Since the beginning of the Second World War, the members of the Düsseldorf resistance group have met in the apartment of the master baker Josef Lauxtermann and in the apartment of the lawyer Karl-August Wiedenhofen (Steinstrasse 15a) to discuss politics and finally also opportunities for a non-fighting handover of the city to plan to the Allies. The "Action Rhineland" was organized here. "( Düsseldorf Cultural Office : Texts for the steles of the" Path of Liberation "project, template 41/77/2010, Culture Committee, September 9, 2010)

  • Station 2: Police headquarters on Jürgensplatz

“On April 16, 1945, the members of the resistance group met Lieutenant Colonel of the Police, Franz Juergens, in the police headquarters on what was then the Kavallerieplatz. It was decided that the lawyer August Wiedenhofen and the architect Aloys Odenthal should make their way to the base of the US troops. Franz Juergens gave them a police car with a driver and issued them a written authorization so that they could pass the German lines. The members of the group had previously arrested the police chief August Korreng. But the action was betrayed by officials from the Presidium who were loyal to the regime and were able to establish contact with remaining Wehrmacht units by telephone. The soldiers then freed the police chief together with Gauleiter Florian. Wiedenhofen and Odenthal already knew about the liberation of Korreng and immediately made their way to the American troops in Mettmann. ”( Düsseldorf Cultural Office : Texts for the steles of the" Path of Liberation "project, template 41/77/2010, culture committee, 9 September 2010)

“As far as Gerresheim, Wiedenhofen and Odenthal drove in a police car in the early afternoon of April 16, 1945, for which Lieutenant Colonel Jürgens had given them a pass and made a driver available. On the hardt they parted from the driver of the car at his request and continued on foot in the direction of Mettmann to the provisional quarters of the US armed forces. They had made the police driver's promise not to reveal their plans to anyone. ”( Kulturamt Düsseldorf : Texts for the steles of the project“ Path of Liberation ”, template 41/77/2010, culture committee, September 9, 2010)

  • Station 4: Lakronstrasse

“Wiedenhofen and Odenthal, the two negotiators, separated from each other in Gerresheim on the afternoon of April 16, 1945 in order to appear less suspicious as individuals. On Lakronstrasse, very close to Odenthal's apartment, he met his wife to say goodbye to her. From the Gerresheimer Friedhof he went again with Wiedenhofen in the direction of Mettmann to the base of the American troops in order to negotiate with them. ”( Düsseldorf Cultural Office : Texts for the steles of the" Path of Liberation "project, template 41/77/2010, culture committee , September 9, 2010)

“The negotiators Wiedenhofen and Odenthal fought their way to the Americans via Rotthauser Weg to Hubbelrath. Here they stopped at Pastor Lebrecht Petri, whom they knew well. The pastor warned them urgently of the danger they were going into and prayed for them and the success of their project, which he considered too dangerous. Wiedenhofen and Odenthal said goodbye and moved on to negotiate with the American troops about the surrender of the city without a fight. They told some German soldiers they met that they were a veterinarian and a farmer so that they could pass unmolested. When she finally approached 18 o'clock the American positions they held a white flag high. "( Cultural Office Dusseldorf : texts for the pillars of the" path of liberation "template 41/77/2010, Culture Committee, September 9, 2010)

  • Station 6: Neanderstraße 85, former district administration Düsseldorf-Mettmann (today town hall)

“This was where the provisional headquarters of the American troops was located, where the Düsseldorf citizens August Wiedenhofen and Aloys Odenthal arrived on the evening of April 16, 1945. They showed a pass for the captain of the Düsseldorf Police, Franz Juergens, who had meanwhile been arrested, and assured the military that no one in Düsseldorf would offer military resistance to an American invasion. The Americans initially distrusted the Germans, but then accepted the offer and refrained from another bombing. This saved the city and the rest of the civilian population. Wiedenhofen and Odenthal were there when the Americans marched in without a fight: They sat on two tanks. ”( Kulturamt Düsseldorf : Texts for the steles of the project“ Weg der Befreiung ”, submission 41/77/2010, Culture Committee, September 9, 2010)

Web links

Commons : Path of Liberation  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scan  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. two newspaper articles.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / fjbk.xo7.de  

literature

  • Volker Zimmermann: In rubble and ashes. The end of the Second World War in Düsseldorf. Edited by the Düsseldorf memorial and the Düsseldorf City Archives, 3rd edition, Düsseldorf 2006.
  • Kurt Düwell : Franz Jürgens - The long way of the Düsseldorf police commander to refusal to serve, in: Dams, Carsten / Dönecke, Klaus / Köhler, Thomas (ed.): "Dienst am Volk"? Düsseldorf police officers between democracy and dictatorship, Frankfurt a. M. 2007, pp. 301-319.
  • Klaus Dönecke: The events of April 16 and 17, 1945 in Düsseldorf ("Aktion Rheinland") and the involvement of the Deputy Police President Dr. Dr. Otto Goetsch, in: Moment, No. 17, Düsseldorf 2000, pp. 23-25.
  • Klaus Dönecke / Fleermann, Bastian: 65 years ago. The path of liberation led to Mettmann, in: Mettmann Journal. Yearbook of the Mettmann district 2010.