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History Path to National Socialism
The Geschichtspfad zum Nationalsozialismus (History Path to National Socialism) in Tübingen's inner city will take participants to 16 authentic places of National Socialism. A main focus is the exclusion and prosecution of former Jewish citizens. The Geschichtspfad will consist of 16 stations. Each station—steles made out of steel—provides information on the history of a respective place. QR codes enable retrieving additional information. The Geschichtspfad is not organized in a specific order; each stele stands on its own. It is possible—but not mandatory—to start at the Synagogue Square Memorial.
The Geschichtspfad is based on a Geschichtswerkstatt initiative. Tübingen University's Arbeitskreis Universität im Nationalsozialismus (Work Group “University during National Socialism”) was also involved in conceptualizing the Geschichtspfad because of the forced sterilizations and racial biological research carried out at the university.
Tübingen had been a Nazi stronghold before 1933. The university boasted about being “Jew-free” already in 1933. The Gemeinderat (district council) was the first in the Reich to put the so-called Freibadbeschluss into action, thereby banning Jewish citizens from visiting the public outdoor swimming pool (Freibad). A number of high-ranking Tübingen Nazis were essential in directly participating in the Holocaust and the deportation of Jewish citizens.
Regime change. National Socialists moving into Tübingen town hall, 1933.
The Geschichtswerkstatt has therefore made a special effort to create the Geschichtspfad. Its goal is to inform not only local citizens but also Tübingen's many visitors about the city's less glorious history and how it participated in the crimes of National Socialism.
The city of Tübingen is involved in realizing and financing the Geschichtspfad. The concept and texts were devised by the work group Geschichtspfad, which consists of members of the Geschichtswerkstatt, the Arbeitskreis Universität im Nationalsozialismus (work group university during National Socialism), the Youth Guides, the Jugendgemeinderat (youth district council), and the Kulturamt (cultural affairs office). The Büro Braun und Engels from Ulm has been hired to conceptualize and realize the graphic design of the Geschichtspfad.
The official opening is scheduled for 2016.
The Stations
Gartenstraße 33: Synagogue Square Memorial
Uhlandstraße 15: Lawyer Simon Hayum
Uhlandstraße/Karlstraße: Albert Weil and the Tübinger Chronik / Gasthof Ochsen: Anti-Semitism in the Weimar Republic
Silcher Memorial Platanenallee: Nazi Art in the Public Realm
Bursagasse 16: Holocuast Perpetrators from Tübingen
Münzgasse 13: Tübingen Police and Gestapo Headquarters / The Role of Christian Churches
Holzmarkt/Neue Strasse 1: Clothing Store Degginger
Marktplatz: Town Hall – “Gleichschaltung” (Forcible Coordination) of the District Council and the Nazi Seizure of Power
Castle Hohentübingen: Institutes Founded during the Nazi Era
Wilhelmstrasse 24: Nazi County Leadership
Youth Hostel: Volksgemeinschaft and Youth Culture during the Nazi Era
Neue Aula: The Role of the University under National Socialism
Nervenklinik: Medical Science/Eugenics/Forced Sterilization during the Nazi Era
Railroad Freight Depot: Prisoners of War in Tübingen
Thiepval Barracks: Militarization under National Socialism