Ebersberg commemorates concentration camp prisoners: New stele for the victims of the Nazi regime!

Ebersberg commemorates concentration camp prisoners: New stele for the victims of the Nazi regime!

Something significant is happening in Ebersberg: a new memorial site is to be created that will remember the victims of the Nazi regime and bring back the memory of the horrors of that time. On August 22, 1945, the bodies of five concentration camp prisoners who had been murdered by the Nazis were discovered in the Ebersberg Forest. They were tied up and shot in the back of the head. Contemporary witness reports indicate that these were prisoners from the Poingen death train. This terrible story arouses the interest of historical researchers like Robert Schurer, who truly has a knack for the culture of remembrance. Süddeutsche.de reports that Schurer has collected information about a new place of remembrance that will bring the memory of those like the five prisoners and other Nazi victims back into the consciousness of the Ebersberg population.

The foundation stone for this memorial was laid in 1951, when Mayor Otto Meyer had 20 victims of National Socialism buried in the old cemetery in Ebersberg. But over the decades the commemoration was forgotten. A square column with a shingle roof, which was built in the 1950s, has disappeared inexpliqué. Theories about its displacement say that it fell victim to cemetery expansion. In 1958, the five concentration camp prisoners were exhumed and reburied in the cemetery of honor at the former Flossenbürg concentration camp, which meant that the memorial in Ebersberg actually disappeared. [Merkur.de]. was reluctantly addressed.

A new monument for Ebersberg

But Robert Schurer is determined to bring back the memory. His design for the new memorial, which is to be built in the blessing hall at the old cemetery, includes a simple stele made of Corten steel. The central words “Commemoration – Remembrance – Responsibility” will be written on it. In addition, information about the five concentration camp prisoners and about the Ukrainian forced laborer Gabriel Poselenyk, who was executed by the Gestapo in Ebersberg in 1944, is housed. Schurer has already sent 70 emails to potential supporters to collect donations, as he still needs a total of 3,000 euros to realize the monument. The artist Matthias Larasser-Bergmeister has already pledged his support and is covering half of the costs. The city of Ebersberg, however, will not participate financially in the project, which means that financing must come from donations from the population.

The response to the call for donations has been positive: a fifth of the required amount was already collected in the first few days. Mayor Ulrich Proske also supported the project and worked resolutely on coming to terms with his own family history. Schurer plans to hold the history workshop in fall 2024 to gather more information about the Ebersberg subcamp. The monument could be erected in autumn 2024 - but the exact date is still up in the air.

This memorial is intended to take a stand against forgetting and remind the citizens of Ebersberg what happened so that such atrocities never happen again. Ultimately, it is an act of responsibility not only to commemorate history, but also to actively anchor it in people's consciousness.