Stones cry out here at Mahnmal Obernheide. It is not a literal cry but a symbolic one. The Mahnmal Obernheide stands as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in history. It commemorates the women who suffered and died here. We stand on the site of the former Obernheide subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp.
From September 1944 to April 1945, this place held about 800 female prisoners. They were primarily Polish and Hungarian Jewish women. The SS transported them here after destroying the Bremen-Hindenburgkaserne subcamp. These women were forced into slave labor for the city of Bremen.
Imagine their daily lives. They marched from the camp to Stuhr train station. They were loaded onto wagons and taken to Bremen. There they cleared rubble in the devastated city. Others worked constructing makeshift homes. Some were forced to produce precast concrete parts for the Luning & Sohn and Rodiek companies. After Allied bombing destroyed the railway lines, the women were transported by truck. When fuel became scarce, they walked over 20 kilometers each way to their work sites. At least ten women died from these brutal conditions.
The Mahnmal Obernheide is a place to remember their suffering. In April 1945, the SS evacuated the camp. The women were forced to march to Uesen. They joined prisoners from Bremen-Uphusen and continued on foot to Verden an der Aller. There, the SS crammed them into open freight cars. After days of aimless travel, the train finally arrived at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Many women perished there. Johann Hille, an SS-Hauptscharfuhrer, was the camp leader here in Obernheide.
After the war, the camp was torn down. The memory of the subcamp faded. But in the 1980s, local people began to reconstruct its history. School groups from the Stuhr-Brinkum Cooperative Comprehensive School played a crucial role. In August 1988, the municipality of Stuhr erected this memorial. The Mahnmal Obernheide serves as a place of remembrance and warning.
The memorial was designed by sculptor Wittmute Malik. It features 60 basalt gray stones arranged in eight rows. The stones represent the people whose dignity was violated or who were murdered. Five oak trees stand in an L-shape. They symbolize a raised hand in warning.
The municipality of Stuhr hopes this Mahnmal Obernheide will commemorate the suffering of the camp inmates. It also emphasizes the need for peaceful coexistence. The memorial’s closed form represents the unwavering power of non-violence. It expresses hope for peace and understanding among people and nations.
Every year, on Repentance and Prayer Day, a memorial walk takes place here. We remember the victims of Obernheide. We recommit ourselves to building a world free from hatred and oppression. Let us never forget the lessons of the past.