Zur Mahnung Plate

Were the walls of this building truly silent witnesses? Here, at the Zur Mahnung Plate in Dusseldorf, a chilling narrative unfolds. The Zur Mahnung Plate, cast in bronze, serves as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in Dusseldorf’s history. It commemorates the suffering endured within the walls of the former police headquarters, which housed a Gestapo prison during World War II. Between 1933 and 1945, over 7,000 men and 800 women were imprisoned here. The inscription, a poignant quote from Paul Celan’s poem Todesfuge (Death Fugue): “Der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland” (“Death is a master from Germany”), underscores the tragic reality of the era. Many prisoners were transported from this very building to concentration camps. Others, unable to bear the torture, tragically took their own lives. The plate also tells the story of Franz Jürgens and other brave citizens who tried to surrender Dusseldorf without a fight to the Allied forces. Their aim was to prevent further death and destruction. They were imprisoned here on April 16, 1945. Following a hasty trial, Jürgens and his companions were executed and buried in the courtyard of a vocational school on Färberstraße. A Dusseldorf jury later declared the sentence lawful, a decision upheld by the Federal Court of Justice in 1952. The Zur Mahnung Plate stands as a powerful testament to their courage and sacrifice, a sobering reminder of the injustices committed, and a call for remembrance. It compels us to confront the past and to work towards a future where such atrocities never happen again.