Demolition of Burgstrasse 59 in Salzwedel: Is history lost?

Demolition of Burgstrasse 59 in Salzwedel: Is history lost?

The building is located in the center of Salzwedel, directly opposite Holzmarktstrasse and near the famous Salzwedel Castle Burgstrasse 59. Unfortunately, it looks as if the historic building will soon be threatened with demolition. On Friday afternoon, November 8th, 2025, excavation work was already taking place in the backyard. TraWo, a cooperative, has acquired shares in the Jewish Claims Conference and is trying to secure the building.

Uta Thiel, chairwoman of the Salzwedel Old Town Working Group, expressed concerns that the demolition could still be prevented. In their opinion, no further action will take place to stop the loss of the building. The Altmarkkreis Salzwedel has already pretty much determined the service period for the demolition with a commissioned company. Thiel also advocates for changes to the law to shorten deadlines and prevent such forfeitures in the future.

Historical significance

The building is not only an old structure, but also has a tragic history connected to the Jewish merchant's widow Clara Weil. She lived there with her family in the 1930s. During the anti-Semitic persecution, her husband, David Hirsch, was taken to the Buchenwald concentration camp after the November pogrom in 1938. Clara was killed in 1942 during the transfer to the Warsaw Ghetto, and her daughter Hanna and her daughter Rachel also met tragic ends in the Theresienstadt Ghetto and the Auschwitz concentration camp.

To commemorate the injustice, stumbling blocks were placed in front of the house. Since June 26, 2010, these have commemorated the Weil family and their suffering during the Nazi regime. However, the unclear legal situation of the building has meant that it has belonged to a community of heirs since 2001, which took care of the estate settlement, but is now increasingly pushed into the background as demolition gets closer and closer.

Current developments

TraWo has agreed to take over the shares of the Jewish Claims Conference, which owns 15 percent, and thus exert more influence on the preservation of the building. TraWo board member Sabine Decker is concerned that the demolition could take place before the administrative matters have been resolved. The timing of these measures is also worth seeing, as it unfortunately coincides with the commemoration of Kristallnacht, which takes place next Sunday.

A list of signatures for the preservation of the building and the development of a usage concept was submitted to the state parliament's petitions committee. The committee meets every three months, but this has no suspensory effect. The fate of Burgstrasse 59 therefore remains uncertain as the citizens of Salzwedel continue to fight for their heritage.