Question: What does this seemingly ordinary plaque, the Gedenktafel Andrzej Szablewski Plaque, whisper about a dark chapter in Hamburg’s history? This memorial stands as a stark reminder of injustice. It commemorates Andrzej Szablewski. He was a Polish forced laborer brutally executed here.
The Gedenktafel Andrzej Szablewski Plaque marks a place of profound sorrow. It is located roughly where an oak tree once stood. Andrzej Szablewski was hanged from that tree. This happened on the grounds of the former Hohenbuchen estate.
Andrzej Szablewski was just 29 years old. In 1942 he became the first forced laborer publicly executed in Hamburg. The Gestapo accused him of having a relationship with a German woman. They requested “special treatment”. This request went to the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin.
He and his brother Kasimierz were forced to leave their farm in Poland in April 1940. They were brought to Germany. There, they were forced to work on the Hohenbuchen estate in Poppenbüttel.
Polish forced laborers were treated poorly. They were labeled as “labor people”. They had to wear a visible “P”. They faced numerous restrictions. Contact with Germans was strictly forbidden. Any intimate contact with a German person was punishable by death.
The estate manager accused Andrzej Szablewski and a harvest helper, Hildegard Lüttten, of having a relationship. Both were arrested. Hildegard Lüttten was sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Andrzej Szablewski was publicly executed on March 13, 1942. This was intended as a deterrent. The execution occurred without a court ruling. It was ordered by Heinrich Himmler. He was the head of the SS.
The Gedenktafel Andrzej Szablewski Plaque was dedicated on March 24, 2003. This was thanks to the initiative of Dr. Andreas Seeger and the Grün-Alternative Liste. Relatives of Andrzej Szablewski from Poland attended the ceremony.
Andreas Seeger’s research brought the story to light. In October 2016 a Stolperstein was placed in front of the Hohenbuchen daycare center. It commemorates Andrzej Szablewski.
The Gedenktafel Andrzej Szablewski Plaque serves as a place of remembrance. It honors a victim of Nazi injustice. It reminds us of the horrors of forced labor. It urges us to remember the past. It encourages us to stand against hatred and intolerance.