Twenty children. A chilling number echoing through the Gedenkstätte Bullenhuser Damm. This unassuming building in Hamburg’s Rothenburgsort district holds a dark secret. A secret whispered on the wind that rustles through the nearby rose garden.
Here at the Gedenkstätte Bullenhuser Damm we stand on hallowed ground. This building served as a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. It was here that a horrific crime took place. In the night of April 20 1945 twenty Jewish children were murdered. Four adults who cared for them met the same fate. At least 24 Soviet prisoners of war were also killed that night.
These children weren’t just victims. They were from Poland the Netherlands Czechoslovakia Italy and France. They were subjected to brutal medical experiments at Neuengamme. Experiments designed by the infamous SS doctor Kurt Heissmeyer. Heissmeyer wanted to develop a tuberculosis vaccine. His experiments failed. His cruelty however didn’t end there.
The order came from Berlin. The children had to be eliminated. Their bodies would be destroyed. The evidence of Nazi atrocities must vanish. The children along with their caregivers were brought to this schoolhouse. They were hanged in the basement. SS-Unterscharführer Johann Frahm carried out the murders. He even told the children they were being put to bed. One eyewitness described Frahm hanging a sleeping child. His weight choked the life out of the boy. Even hardened prisoners had never witnessed such cruelty.
The Gedenkstätte Bullenhuser Damm isn’t just a memorial. It is a testament to the lives of these innocent children. The building reopened as a school in 1948. In 1980 it became a memorial. The journalist Günther Schwarberg played a crucial role. His research brought their stories to light. He helped name and honor the victims preventing their names from being lost to history. The rose garden stands as a powerful symbol. Each rose planted is a tribute to a lost life.
The Gedenkstätte Bullenhuser Damm is a place of remembrance. A solemn reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. It is a place where history touches the soul. It’s a site where we must never forget. Let the stories of these children serve as a constant warning. A poignant reminder of the dangers of hatred and indifference. Let us honor their memory. Let us learn from the past. Let us fight against all forms of injustice.