The Mellini affair The Mellini Theater was located in present-day Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse (known at that time as Artilleriestrasse) opposite the junction with Odeonstrasse. It was a variety theatre or boulevard theatre. During the Second World War, it was converted into a “Kraft-durch-Freude-Theater” [Strength through Joy Theatre], designed to boost morale (by inspiring a spirit of resilience…
The Laveshaus on Friedrichswall: Municipal health department 1935-37 The building was constructed during 1823-24 by the renowned court architect and town planner Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves, who lived there until his death. In 1855, the adjacent annexe was added for use by his son as his studio and living quarters. From 1908 onwards, the buildings…
Precious metals handed over to the Lending Office The city authorities were also involved in robbing and marginalising the Jewish population. In the spring of 1939, the Jews in Hanover and the surrounding area were forced to bring all their valuables made of precious metal to the municipal Lending Office at Am Hohen Ufer. Today…
Am Hohen Ufer: “Polenaktion” [the expulsion of Polish Jews from the German Reich] and Reich pogrom night Hanover’s historical origins are to be found at the ford across the River Leine and the river island just by the Beginenturm. One thousand years later, buildings at the point known as Am Hohen Ufer [literally: High Bank] are…
The police headquarters in Hardenbergstrasse Place of persecution: at the outset of the Nazi regime, the police headquarters building, inaugurated in 1903, housed not only the Kripo [abbreviation of ‘Kriminalpolizei’, the Criminal Investigation Department] but also the Hanover Gestapo [abbreviation of ‘Geheime Staatspolizei’, the Secret State Police]. Opponents of the Nazi regime as well…
The Maschsee: Prodigious plans For joggers, water sports enthusiasts or rollerbladers, the Maschsee most likely rates as Hanover’s most popular local recreational lake reserve. Yet, few are aware that it was built by the Nazis as an architectural showpiece. However, plans for the lake go back further. Torchbearer column on the north bank of the…
Renaming of streets: “Adolf Hitler Street” After the handover of power to the National Socialists, a host of streets and squares in Hanover, as in other cities in the German Reich, are renamed for political motives. Not just main shopping thoroughfares such Bahnhofstrasse, but also quiet side streets and intersecting streets fall victim to the…
Lange Laube: “SA Street” and Gauleitung [regional party leaders] Post-1933, many streets in Hanover were renamed after prominent National Socialist figures or in honour of party organisations. Bahnhofstrasse became “Adolf-Hitler-Strasse”, the square in front of the Stadthalle [now the Congress Centre] became “Hermann-Göring-Platz”, and Lange Laube became “Strasse der SA”, SA Street [SA is the…
Aegidienkirche: a war memorial The Aegidienkirche [Church of Aegidien], a Gothic hall church, was built in the middle of the 14th century. Together with the Marktkirche and Kreuzkirche it was one of the three churches in Hanover’s Altstadt. But today, its ruins stand as a memorial to the victims of war and violence. Hanover: View…
Cemetery of Honour on the northern bank of the Maschsee Graves of victims from all over Europe: this cemetery is the resting place of 386 concentration camp prisoners, forced labourers and prisoners of war from many European countries. The victims include 154 from the former Soviet Union who were murdered in a mass shooting that…