Do you know your city? “Täterspuren” (Traces of offenders) 2015

Mahngang Täterspuren 2015,FEB 13,  13.00 at Helmut-Schön-Allee

Since 2011, the Alliance „Dresden-Nazifrei“ calls for a "March for traces of offenders" (Täterspurenmahngang). We show at various places in the city that Dresden was not the innocent city of culture and arts it was proclaimed as during and after the war. SA and SS, Gestapo and forced labour, hatred and persecution war part of Dresden as they in every other city in Germany. Dresden was part of the war machinery of the “Third Reich” as well as the Holocaust. Dresden was bombed just like many other German cities and not more or less innocent than them Our "March for traces of offenders" aims to show this by presenting historic facts to selected places of interest.

The flyer with all stations of the march can be found here.

The stations of "Traces of offenders" 2015

1. 13.00: "ILGEN-KAMPFBAHN"

Herman Ilgen, founder of the foundation named after him, paid for erecting sports grounds on the Güntzwiesen (Güntz Green) . Opened in 1923, it was the venue for sports festivals and big events, but also served as parade grounds for the state military and alliances of warriors. On, 05/11/1944 ten „Volkssturm“-Battalions were sworn in on this venue.

2. 13:30: "GAUFORUM" AND REDEVELOPING THE CITY

If everything would have gone the way how the county leader Mutschmann and mayor Zörner envisioned it, this place would have seen the so-called Gauforum (County Forum). Furthermore, the entire city centre would have been redeveloped entirely. And although almost all underlying laws were already quashed, the responsible architect Paul Wolf thought them totally utopic.

3. 14:15: CITY HALL

In the beginning of 1933, the liberal mayor Wilhelm Külz refused to follow the demands of the Nazis to lay off unwanted civil servants and council members, set the NS-flag and so on. He was then put on leave on 14/03/1933 and eventually sacked in July 1933. His successor, the Nazi mayor Zörner opened on 23/09/1933 the first exhibition “Entartete Kunst” ("Degenerated Art")

4. 14:30: "DRESDNER BANK"

Between 1933 and 1942, business of the Dresdner Bank expanded massively, it then saw a triplication of the sum in its books. The immediate influence of the Nazis onto the bank relied on a direct influence of Hitler on the banks board of directors. Due to this, it took over the business of the long-standing private bank „Privatbank Arnhold“ as part of the arisation of Jewish assets. The Dresdner Bank, the first address of banking for the SS, is thought to be the larger German financial institution that was involved most with the crimes of the Nazi-regime.

5. 15:00: STATE THEATRE

After the Nazis got to power, many previously much-cheered artists of the state theatre and the Semper Opera lost their jobs on political and racial grounds.

THETRE SQUARE

In 1934, the Theatre week of the German Reich took place in Dresden. Its aimed at redeveloping art and culture so that it served the dictatorship of the Nazis.

"TASCHENBERGPALAIS"

The Taschenbergpalais was the headquarters of the defense-area Dresden and other Wehrmacht-agencies. It was destroyed on the 13th of February 1945. Its jewish owners were disowned and the associated Hotels, Restraurants and so on racially “cleaned”. The family never was never reimbursed after the liberation.

6. 15:30: CASTLE SQUARE 1, "STÄNDEHAUS"

The Building – Home of the Saxon Parliament, was stormed by SS troops on 09/03/1933 and the Parliament relinquished. Martin Mutschmann opened his office here in the same month. From 1936 it was also home to the “Club for Promoting the Saxon Nationhood”, whose goal it was to get the entire Saxon cultural live in line with an to serve the Nazi-propaganda.

7. 16:00: FRAUENKIRCHE

In common commemoration, the Frauenkirche is the symbol for the devastation of Dresden. However, that this was also centre of action for the counties secretary for religious affairs and leader of the association of Nazi-clergymen Friedrich Coch is hardly known. As NSDAP-member he was a major player in the cooptation of the evangelic church in Saxony.