Memorial at the site of the New Synagogue “In the German Style”: in 1870, the New Synagogue, designed by the eminent Jewish architect Edwin Oppler, is inaugurated at its location on an open square in Calenberger Neustadt. Its scale and architectural style express a new self-confidence and the belief that as Jews they are now…
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…
Book burning memorial at the Geibelbastion On 10 May 1933, members of Hanover’s universities burnt the books of Jewish, liberal, pacifist and Marxist writers at the Bismarck Tower at the Maschwiesen (site of the present-day Maschsee lake). Hanover: The book burning on 10 May 1933 at the Bismarck Tower, press photo from: Die Weltschau, 21…
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…
Ballhof and “cleansing and recovery of the Altstadt” Deceptive mediaeval appearance: Nowadays, Ballhofplatz – Ballhof Square in English – may give every appearance of being the idyllic remnants of old Hanover. However, its origins are rather more recent: the square and surrounding buildings are a product of the redevelopment of the Altstadt [historic old town]…
Kreuzstrasse: SA Sturmlokal – a tavern where the SA met The former “Kreuzklappe” is thought to have existed as a feared National Socialist hang-out in the heart of the Altstadt since the summer of 1931. In the old ‘Mitte’ [central district] of Hanover, the hostility between Communists and Nazis is particularly acrimonious. Hanover: National socialists…
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…
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…
Neues Rathaus: the New Town Hall in Hanover Four scale models of the city vividly illustrate Hanover’s development, from the time it was the small residential seat of the House of Guelph (or Welf) (1689), to an industrial city on the eve of the Second World War (1939); then from the almost completely destroyed city…
ZeitZentrum Zivilcourage Located in the heart of the city, opposite the Neues Rathaus [New City Hall] in the Rathauskontor building complex, the ZeitZentrum Zivilcourage [Centre for Moral Courage] is an educational centre designed to appeal to all sectors of the community. It was opened in March 2021 and welcomes schoolchildren and all visitors with an…