Nazi Era in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel

In the picturesque district of Oberkassel, known for its Rhine meadows, trendy Italian restaurants, and stately apartments in renovated old buildings, a darker chapter of its history is being brought to light. A brochure titled "Spurensuche - Die NS-Zeit im Bezirk 4" has been produced to explore this repressed history.

The district, which experienced fear and terror during the Nazi era, was the scene of merciless persecution of Jewish and critical fellow citizens. One of the key figures in this tragic period was Julius Schecher, a local group leader who had joined the NSDAP in 1930. With 185 so-called block leaders, Schecher ensured Hitler's loyalty and lived and worked at Schanzenstraße 25.

Oberkassel was also home to acts of heroism and resistance. Otto Pankok, an artist, and his wife Hulda hid a fellow painter and his Jewish wife from the Gestapo at Brend'amourstr. 65. The former Oberkasseler pastor Gottfried Hötzel bravely preached against the persecution of Jews but was denounced, arrested, interrogated, harassed, and expelled. He died in southern exile from a stroke in the same year.

David Salomon, a master craftsman, owned a rental house at Teutonenstraße 9 that served as a way station for Jewish neighbors hoping for emigration or a miracle. Most were eventually deported, including Salomon himself.

The Nazis established themselves in Oberkassel after 1933, with a photo showing uniformed police standing at attention in front of a display case with the SS magazine "Das schwarze Korps" in front of the police station on Sonderburgstraße. The police incurred great guilt during this era due to their involvement in persecutions and executions.

One of the victims was Oberkasseler lawyer Kaspar Anraths, who repeatedly tried to combat injustice through legal means but was arrested as a "troublemaker" and eventually deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he died in 1940 after torture. The Lindemeyers, members of an evangelical congregation, were persecuted as "non-Aryan Christians" due to their Jewish roots and were deported from Oberkassel in 1941, where they died.

The "Spurensuche - Die NS-Zeit im Bezirk 4" brochure, created by the local history association of Hamburg-Bergedorf, is available for free to interested citizens. It can be downloaded from the website of the district's archive or cultural office. The brochure is also available at the Memorial and Remembrance Site (Mühlenstr. 29) and VVV (San-Remo-Str. 6). The brochure can also be found online at www.vvv-linksrheinisch.de.

Bastian Fleermann, director of the Memorial and Remembrance Site, and his colleague Hildegard Jakobs have researched and selected 13 stations to remember victims, perpetrators, and structures of power on the left bank. Their work serves as a testament to the district's dark past and a reminder of the importance of remembering history. The Traffic and Beautification Association, an over 120-year-old organization, has shown particular interest in the presented brochure.