Lucille Eichengreen Plaque

Have you ever heard the name Lucille Eichengreen? Here, at the Lucille Eichengreen Plaque, her story echoes through time. This plaque, a memorial to a woman’s strength amidst unimaginable hardship, stands as a sobering reminder of Hamburg’s dark past. Lucille Eichengreen, born Cecilie Landau in Hamburg in 1925, faced the horrors of the Holocaust. At just 16, she was deported to the Łódź Ghetto, along with her mother and younger sister. Her father had already been murdered in Dachau. In the ghetto, she endured inhumane conditions, witnessing her mother starve to death. Later, she was sent to Auschwitz, where she was deemed fit for work by Josef Mengele. This sent her not to immediate death, but to forced labor. She was transported to the Dessauer Ufer, a satellite camp of Neuengamme concentration camp, right here in Hamburg. Imagine the cruelty of being forced to work in the port of your own city, clearing rubble and debris as a prisoner. The Lucille Eichengreen Plaque features lines from her poem “Hair,” a poignant reflection on the dehumanizing experience of the concentration camps. It’s a testament to her spirit that she survived the horrors of Auschwitz, Neuengamme, and Bergen-Belsen. The plaque also commemorates the 500 other women imprisoned at Dessauer Ufer, forced to labor for companies like Eurotank, Ebano-Oehler, and Schindler. After the war, Lucille emigrated to the United States. She married, raised a family, and remarkably, found the strength to share her story. Her memoir, “From Ashes to Life,” is a powerful account of survival and resilience. Lucille Eichengreen returned to Hamburg in 1995, a testament to her courage. The Lucille Eichengreen Plaque serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of remembrance and the indomitable human spirit.