Jewish Community of Konstanz e.V.
1940 deportation to Gurs
Commemoration and inauguration of the memorial at Petershausen train station (Alemannenplatz)
October 22, 2021
Commemoration and inauguration of the memorial at Petershausen train station (Alemannenplatz)
On October 22, 1940, over 6,500 Jewish people from Baden and the Saar Palatinate - including 112 Jews from Konstanz - were deported to the Gurs internment camp in southern France. Numerous deportees perished in Gurs and other camps in the south of France; from 1942 onwards, thousands were deported to the extermination camps in the east and murdered.
As part of a cross-school project, young people from Konstanz have been working on a memorial to commemorate the deportees since 2019, and another group researched individual biographies. The original plan was to inaugurate the memorial on the 80th anniversary of the October deportation at Petershauser Bahnhof. On October 22, 1940, the Jews of Constance were deported from this freight depot, which was then a little out of the way. Due to the corona, the commemoration and the inauguration of the memorial had to be postponed for a year. Information from the young people on the symbolism and intention of the memorial can be found in the attachment (A memorial for Petershausen.docx). The accompanying text board was also formulated by a group of schoolchildren (Appendix: Text board memorial.docx).
The commemorative celebrations will begin on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 9.00 a.m. with a joint memorial path that leads from Bodanplatz via the city center to Petershauser Bahnhof. At individual stations, schoolchildren will present biographical texts together with the Konstanz City Theater.
This will be followed by the inauguration of the memorial and the commemoration of the 81st anniversary of the deportation from 11 a.m. at Petershauser Bahnhof, Alemannenplatz. The Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz accompanies the event with pieces of music from the Gurs camp.
On the evening before, October 21, 2021, the exhibition "Gurs 1940", designed by the House of the Wannsee Conference, will be opened, which will be supplemented by local exhibition boards designed by the young people. It will be on display in a tent on the grounds of the Heinrich-Suso-Gymnasium until November 18th.
We thank for the support and cooperation: Alexander-von Humboldt-Gymnasium, Office for Urban Planning and Environment Konstanz, Ellenrieder-Gymnasium Konstanz, Gebhard Community School, Harald Björnsgard, Heinrich-Suso-Gymnasium, Hochbauamt Stadt Konstanz, INNOTIO, Kulturamt der Stadt Konstanz, City of Konstanz, City Archives Konstanz, City Theater Konstanz, Southwest German Philharmonic Konstanz, participants and management of the Hegau-Bodensee seminar "Search for traces", participants and management of the "art group"