Demolition of Burgstrasse 59 in Salzwedel: city history is lost!

Demolition of Burgstrasse 59 in Salzwedel: city history is lost!

In Salzwedel, a piece of the city's history will be irrevocably lost. The dilapidated house number 59 on Burgstrasse, where Jewish families once lived, has been approved for demolition. The Altmarkkreis Salzwedel has already budgeted 130,000 euros for this in its budget for 2025 reports AZ Online. The focus here is on averting danger, as the building has partially collapsed and its stability can no longer be guaranteed.

The decision to demolish the historic building also has an emotional and historical background. During the Third Reich, the Jewish merchant's widow Clara Weil lived here with her daughter Hanna Hirsch, her husband David and their daughter Rachel. Clara Weil was deported to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 and died, as did her entire family, under cruel circumstances reports the Volksstimme. There are four stumbling blocks in front of the house, including one in honor of Clara Weil, which commemorates her fate.

The history of the house

The building belonged to the Weil family until it was expropriated. According to the National Socialist laws that came into force after the pogrom night in November 1938, Jewish citizens no longer had any rights. Clara Weil had to move with her family to the Jewish house at Altperverstrasse 1 and lived there until she was deported said the people's voice. The family was finally deported in 1942. The house changed hands through a forced sale and was later used by the Wilhelm Gartz company, which was active in linen weaving.

City archivist Steffen Langusch explained that the Jewish businesses were often taken over below market value. A look at an address list from 1939 makes it clear that Clara Weil was still registered as a tenant at Burgstrasse 59 at that time. Coming to terms with these dark chapters of German history is still the focus of urban remembrance work.

A painful loss for the city

In April, an attentive reader asked about the history of the place, which sparked interest in the reality of life for the Jewish residents at the time so reports the Volksstimme. When examining the inquiries, it was found that the next documented owner after Clara Weil was the Wilhelm Gartz company, which was present there until 1959. After reunification, the family's efforts to get the house back failed.

The identity of the current owners remains obscure. It is unclear whether the house is owned by the Jewish community or the State Association of Jewish Communities in Saxony-Anhalt. The demolition work will begin in 2025 and is scheduled to be completed by 2026. An application for excess expenditure will also be submitted for 2025, and the political committees are already discussing the expenditure as AZ Online describes.

With the demolition of the building, not only a building will be erased, but also part of the history of the Jewish population in Salzwedel. The stumbling blocks in front of the house are a clear sign of remembrance and should continue to serve as a reminder of the fate of the Jewish families who suffered in the shadow of National Socialism.