Tragedy befell hundreds here. We stand before the Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge. This memorial remembers the concentration camp prisoners who perished near Lüneburg in April 1945.
The Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge marks a site of immense suffering. It serves as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II. It is a place for reflection. It is a place to honor the victims of Nazi terror.
In early April 1945, Allied forces advanced into northern Germany. They liberated concentration camps as they went. Reichsinnenminister Himmler ordered that no prisoner should fall into enemy hands alive. This order led to the evacuation of concentration camps like Wilhelmshaven.
Around 400 prisoners from the Wilhelmshaven satellite camp were transported to Lüneburg. These prisoners were deemed “unable to march”. On April 7, 1945, Allied bombers attacked the Lüneburg railway station. The aim was to disrupt German supply lines. Tragically, the prisoner train was hit.
At least 256 prisoners died in the bombing. Survivors were gathered in a nearby field. The SS transported about 140 prisoners to Bergen-Belsen. On April 11, the remaining 60 to 80 prisoners were murdered. Wehrmacht soldiers and SS officer Gustav Alfred Jepsen carried out this heinous act.
The Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge stands as a testament to this crime. Initially, the victims were buried in mass graves. After the war, the British occupation forces ordered their exhumation. They were reburied in individual graves in the Tiergarten forest.
In 1954, a memorial stone replaced the individual crosses. The Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge has been a place of remembrance. The memorial is a reminder of the consequences of hate.
Today, 167 victims remain buried here. The families of French, Belgian, and Italian prisoners moved some remains to their home countries. The Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge remains a place of international remembrance.
The Geschichtswerkstatt Lüneburg plans to open a small permanent exhibition. It will be housed in a historical goods car. It is near the Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge. This will provide further context to the events of April 1945.
The Ehrenmal für gestorbene KZ-Häftlinge is a solemn space. It invites us to remember. It urges us to learn from the past. The memorial serves as a warning against all forms of hatred and intolerance. Let us carry the memory of these victims.