Debate about school names: Ebersberg questions Josef Wintrich's past!
Debate about school names: Ebersberg questions Josef Wintrich's past!
Ebersberg, Deutschland - In Ebersberg, an exciting discussion about the naming of the "Dr. Wintrich Realschule", which draws attention to historical entanglements of the namesake. On June 7, 2025, the AfD district councilor Manfred Schmidt submitted an application for renaming the school to "Pfarrer-Korbinian-Aigner-Realschule". Schmidt describes Josef Wintrich as a "regime stabilizer and career-conscious opportunist", which fueled the public debate. The proposal is in the context of research knowledge of the Institute for Contemporary History, which Wintrich's role increasingly questioned during the Nazi era.
This application was submitted to the responsible SFB committee of the Ebersberg district council, which, however, rejected, initially waiting for further scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, the committee emphasizes that a name change is generally not excluded. Historian Eva Balz describes Wintrich as a difficult -to -class character in the National Socialist regime. His role as a rapporteur for the SS Security Service and as a guardianship judge for the organization "Lebensborn" raises questions that require an in -depth evaluation.
The story of Josef Wintrich
Josef Marquart Wintrich became chief office in 1933 at the Ebersberg District Court. After the war, despite his controversial past, he came to a new career as a provisional district administrator in the Ebersberg district. In 1953 he finally became a judge and president at the Federal Constitutional Court. In 1994 the school was named after him on the proposal by Mayor Lehnert. The exact connection of his professional career with the National Socialist conditions is currently being examined as part of a research project that is to be completed in 2026.
The name change could also be discussed with a discussion about Pastor Korbinian Aigner's legacy, which was deported to Dachau as a teacher and parish assistant during his time. Aigner offers the teachers, parents and students of their school family a completely different picture than Wintrich has previously embodied, and could therefore gain in importance. However, the change of name could only be decided with the consent of the school authority, the teacher conference, the parents' council and the student responsibility, which underlines the complexity of the procedure.
What's next?
The Ebersberger school family is at a turning point. The application and ongoing research show how important it is to critically question history and, if necessary, to re -evaluate. In a final judgment that is expected by the Institute for Contemporary History, the cards could be mixed up. The coming months will show what the political discourse and opinions of the school family will look like.
The discussion about the naming of a school remains a sensitive topic in which understanding and history have to go hand in hand. Let us be surprised at how this process continues and which new perspectives open to the past.
For more detailed information on the topic, the reports of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and DetailsOrt Ebersberg, Deutschland Quellen