Schießplatz Dünnwald War memorial

Amidst the tranquil Dellbrücker Wald lies a chilling reminder of a darker past: the Schießplatz Dünnwald War Memorial. This seemingly peaceful area, once a Prussian military shooting range, holds a tragic history. The Schießplatz Dünnwald, established in 1887, initially served as a training ground. It featured up to six shooting lanes, separated by earthen walls, some still visible today. After WWI, the site was decommissioned. However, the Nazis reactivated the Schießplatz Dünnwald in 1936. It became not only a training ground but also an execution site for Wehrmacht soldiers. Between 1940 and 1943, over 20 men were executed here, their lives tragically cut short. Their crimes? Desertion, or as the Nazi regime termed it, “subversion of military power.” These men, some as young as 18, were deemed traitors and paid the ultimate price. One such victim was Jakob Brock, a 23-year-old soldier who had served on the Eastern Front. During a home leave in 1945, he married a Cologne woman and applied for a leave extension. Amidst the chaos of the war’s final days, the approval never reached his commander. Brock was arrested, sentenced to death by a court-martial in Höhenhaus, and executed near the Schießplatz Dünnwald on April 7, 1945. He left behind a pregnant wife, unaware of his tragic fate. Even after the war, the Schießplatz Dünnwald continued to be used as a training ground by Belgian forces, the Bundeswehr, and the police until the mid-1970s. Today, the Schießplatz Dünnwald War Memorial stands as a stark reminder of the injustices committed during the Nazi era. The memorial, unveiled in 2019, bears a poignant quote from Ludwig Baumann, a Wehrmacht deserter: “What can be done better than deserting the war?” It is a testament to the courage of those who resisted, and a solemn tribute to the lives lost at this once-forgotten place of tragedy.