Hannoverscher Bahnhof
Today’s remembrances of the former Hannoverscher Bahnhof are imprinted by the twenty deportation transports that took place from 1940 to 1945. With them went 7692 Jews, Roma and Sinti from Hamburg and northern Germany, destined for the ghettos and extermination camps of eastern and central Europe – for most of them, a journey into death.
In 2004, the researchers Dr. Linde Apel and Dr. Frank Bajohr, both of the Hamburg Contemporary History Research Center, presented to the Office for Cultural Affairs the first comprehensive study of the topic: “The Deportations of Jews, Roma and Sinti from Hannoverscher Bahnhof in Hamburg from 1940 to 1945.”
In the spring of 2008, during negotiations to form a coalition, the governing parties included the development of a memorial at the former Hannoverscher Bahnhof as part of their final agreement.
The exhibition “Sent to Their Deaths,” developed by Dr. Linde Apel, opened at the Kunsthaus Hamburg in February 2009.
Exhibition Catalog
Sent to Their Deaths. The Deportations of Jews, Roma and Sinti from Hamburg, 1940 to 1945. (German-English) »
Open-Space Design Competition
A series of design competitions will be held to invite proposals for the memorial site. »
Exhibition Overview
It includes interviews with survivors, as well as photos, documents such as letters and diaries, and original memento items. »
The History of Hannoverscher Bahnhof
Hannoverscher Bahnhof, at first called Pariser and Venloer Bahnhof, saw various uses since opening in 1872: until 1907, it offered passenger and freight connections from Hamburg to the south. In 1906, the newly opened Hamburg Central Station took over passenger traffic. Afterwards, Hannoverscher Bahnhof functioned primarily as a freight station. »
Hannoverscher Bahnhof as a Deportation Station
“One was ashamed to belong to the German people in whose name all of this was supposedly happening.” (Erwin Garvens, 1941) From 1940 to 1945, the station was used for deportations: During that time, twenty deportation trains departed from Hannoverscher Bahnhof. With them went at least 7692 Jews, Roma and Sinti from Hamburg and northern Germany, destined for the ghettos and concentration camps of central and eastern Europe. »
The Deportation to Bełżec
In northern Germany around 16 May 1940, criminal detectives began arresting hundreds of Roma and Sinti, interning them in the fruit warehouse at Magdeburg Harbor for several days. On 20 May 1940, 910 persons (550 from Hamburg, 200 from Schleswig-Holstein, and 160 from Bremen) were taken away on the first deportation from Hannoverscher Bahnhof, destined for Bełżec. »
The Perpetrators
In Hamburg, a multitude of authorities and organizations were actively involved in the organization and implementation of the deportations in the name of the National Socialist regime. Responsible for the actual implementation was a close cooperation between Gestapo, the regular police, the central revenue department, and the Reich Railway. »