“Menschen, wir hatten euch lieb, seid wachsam.” These words etched in stone, serve as a constant reminder here at the Ehrenhain Hamb. Widerstandskämpfer Statue. We stand at a place of remembrance. It honors those from the Hamburg worker’s movement who were executed or died from imprisonment between 1933 and 1945. They were all antifascists.
The Ehrenhain Hamb. Widerstandskämpfer Statue is located within the Ohlsdorf Cemetery. You can find it to the right of the main entrance on Bergstrasse. It has stood here since September 8, 1946.
In the years 1946 and 1947, urns of executed resistance fighters were buried near the graves of those who fell in the revolution from 1918 to 1920. The urns were moved to this location in the early 1960s. The cemetery was redesigned by architect Karlheinz Rebstock. A sculpture by Richard Steffen was erected.
Richard Steffen’s bronze sculpture, “The Speaker,” stood at the entrance to the Ehrenhain Hamb. Widerstandskämpfer Statue until it was stolen in March 2011. In 2017, the sculpture was replaced with a new sculpture. The new sculpture is also called “The Speaker”. It was created by Henning Hammond-Norden and Ulrich Beppler and is made of sculpted concrete.
The graves here at the Ehrenhain Hamb. Widerstandskämpfer Statue are arranged in four rows. Each is marked with a cushion stone. These stones bear the names, birth dates, and death dates of the victims. They also feature stylized concentration camp triangles. Among the first victims commemorated here are participants in the Altona Bloody Sunday. August Lütgens, Bruno Tesch, Karl Wolff, and Walter Möller were executed. Emil Theodor Hans Wendt was murdered in 1944.
People were imprisoned for various reasons. Some were incarcerated for desertion or for making critical statements. Others were punished for participating in resistance activities. The resistance fighters died in many ways. Some were killed by military execution. Others were murdered or died as participants in the Spanish Civil War. Still others were sentenced to death by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, the People’s Court, special courts, or military courts. Some died by order of the Reich Security Main Office or from the harsh conditions of concentration camps.
Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones, have been placed for some of the victims. These include Bernhard Bästlein, Erika Etter, Hans Hornberger, Karl Kock, August Lütgens, Walter Möller, Wilhelm Stein, Bruno Tesch, and Karl Wolff. More have been added since 2005.
Looking at the rows of graves from the entrance. The first row includes Karl Schaar, Oswald Laue, Richard Bähre, and Walter Bunge. It also includes Bruno Meisel, Eduard Olejniczak, Gustav Hüsing, and Heinrich Seifert. Franz Händler, Emil Tiessat, Rudolf and Ernst Stender, Erika and Werner Etter, Bruno and Heinz Priess, and Otto Marquardt are also in the first row.
The second row includes T. H. Emil Wendt, Irene Wosikowski, Kurt von Appen, and Harry von Bargen. Kurt Schill, Hans Hornberger, Hermann Spreckels, Elisabeth and Gustav Bruhn, Rudolf Lindau, Hans Görtz, and Vatti Hoffmann are also in the second row.
Bernhard Bästlein, Franz Jacob, Robert Abshagen, and Kurt Vorpahl are in the third row. The third row also includes Wilhelm Stein, Walter Reber, Karl Kock, Erich Heins, and Heinrich Zimmermann. Konrad Hoffmann, Fiete Schulze, Otto Peters, Claudius Gosau, and Bertus Hoffmann are also found here.
Finally, the fourth row includes Wilhelm Boller, Kurt Beusse, August Kähler, and Friedrich Dossel. Erich Schult, Friedrich Kaefer, Willy Szczepanski, Etkar André, and Hans Westermann are here too. Albert Bennies, August Lütgens, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and Bruno Tesch complete the fourth row.
Many of those buried here have no Wikipedia biography. However, most have entries at Stolpersteine Hamburg.
In the eastern part of the cemetery, near the Bramfelder Chaussee entrance, is another burial ground. This is the honorary field of the Geschwister Scholl Foundation. It is for resistance fighters and those persecuted by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945 who died after 1945.
The Ehrenhain Hamb. Widerstandskämpfer Statue stands as a solemn reminder. It is a place to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those who stood against tyranny. May their memory inspire us to remain vigilant and to cherish the values of freedom and justice.