The memory of the Oldenburgers

What do Oldenburg's pedestrian zone, kale and the artist Horst Janssen have in common? Quite simply: they are considered to be characteristic of Oldenburg, so-called "places of remembrance".

Students of the subject of history have analysed 17 Oldenburg places of remembrance in a volume of essays. Here is an interview with the head of the project, historian Mareike Witkowski.

Question: Ms Witkowski, how did the historical concept of places of remembrance come about - and what is a place of remembrance anyway?

Witkowski: The term was developed in the mid-1980s by French historian Pierre Nora. His aim was to describe what the French collectively remember. To a certain extent, it was also about conveying national patriotism. This ultimately resulted in seven volumes of French places of remembrance. According to Nora's concept, places of remembrance can be material or immaterial - not just monuments or buildings, but also the French national anthem, for example. There are now anthologies on places of remembrance for almost every European nation. The three-volume "German Places of Remembrance", edited by Étienne François and Hagen Schulze, was published in 2001.

Question: The concept of places of remembrance has been applied not only to nations but also to relationships between nations, as well as to entire historical epochs such as antiquity. Also to local and regional history - as now with the volume on "Oldenburg Places of Remembrance"?

Witkowski: Surprisingly rarely - and if so, then it was usually only about material things, primarily monuments. Perhaps that's because of how much work such a project involves. We also realised this in the seminar from which the "Oldenburg Places of Remembrance" emerged. When analysing the sources, you have to think around corners a lot: Where can I find any evidence of collective memory? At what historical points in time could there have been remembrance of a particular place of remembrance? When were memorial debates held?

Question: For the selection of the 17 Oldenburg places of remembrance included in the volume, the students interviewed passers-by in the pedestrian zone as well as historians and museum experts. Did the answers of the non-experts differ from those of the experts?

Witkowski: Yes, there were big differences. Most of the non-experts mentioned places of remembrance that are also listed in city guides. Sports clubs, places to go out or places of remembrance that played an important role in their own lives were also frequently mentioned: For example, one interviewee mentioned the Prinzenpalais because it was where he had his first "date" with his future life partner. The historians and museum experts, on the other hand, tended to refer to the less popular but nevertheless important places of remembrance. These include the medieval battle of Altenesch. In 1234, the Stedingen peasants fought against an army of the Archbishop of Bremen and the Counts of Oldenburg in this village in the Weser marshes. This battle was heavily politicised by the Nazis, but it is still remembered today.

Question: In addition to clearly Oldenburg memorial sites such as the Lamberti Church or the Trolli and Pekol buses, you have also included keywords such as "flight and expulsion" or "pedestrian zone" in the volume. Many other German cities were also affected by flight and expulsion, and a pedestrian zone is not only found in Oldenburg ...

Witkowski: We discussed this problem for a long time. Ultimately, however, we came to the conclusion that these places of remembrance are also specific to Oldenburg. What flight and expulsion meant for Oldenburg was summed up very well in the title of a book on the subject: "Großstadt wider Willen" ("Big city against its will"). Around 40,000 new Oldenburg residents were taken in during the final weeks of the war and after the end of the war. The memory of this and of the areas of origin of the refugees and displaced persons became very formative for Oldenburg. As far as the pedestrian zone is concerned, the people of Oldenburg are probably more attached to it than the inhabitants of other cities. This certainly has to do with the fact that Oldenburg's city centre survived the war relatively unscathed and became the first car-free city centre in Germany.

Question: To what extent is the local and regional National Socialist history present among Oldenburg residents?

Witkowski: I think it is very present, but not in all aspects to the same extent. For example, the memory of 9 November 1938, when the synagogue was set on fire and Oldenburg's Jews were driven from the Pferdemarkt to the prison in the court district, is widespread. This is probably mainly thanks to the remembrance walk organised by the Remembrance Walk Working Group and Oldenburg schools since 1981. However, the fact that Oldenburg was the first state in the Reich to be ruled by National Socialists - and by a single government - is virtually unknown. That was back in June 1932, around six months before the so-called seizure of power in Berlin.

Question: You have also included the University of Oldenburg in your volume. What was and is decisive for the development of the "University of Oldenburg" as a place of remembrance?

Witkowski : It is exciting to see how the relationship between the city and the university has developed. In the beginning, the university was seen as a "red cadre factory". Bourgeois Oldenburg was afraid of "Bremen conditions" - that only left-wingers would teach and study here and steer the beautiful, tranquil city in the wrong direction. When these fears turned out to be unfounded over the years, the relationship relaxed. A new development has recently resulted from the fact that Oldenburg has developed its image from a city of civil servants and administration to a city of science. As a result, the university has become an important image factor.

Question: The cover of the book "Oldenburger Erinnerungsorte" features the figure of Count Anton Günther, whose possible erection on the Schlossplatz has sparked a fierce dispute. The outbreak of this debate must have been a stroke of luck for your book project ...

Witkowski: You could say that. This discussion proves that what we have done is not finished, but is highly relevant today. However, the essay on Count Anton Günther in the "Oldenburg Places of Remembrance" also shows that there was already a similar debate about a monument to the "Prince of Peace" and "Horse Count" in the 19th century. These political trench wars of remembrance are therefore nothing new.

Mareike Witkowski (ed.): Oldenburger Erinnerungsorte. From the Castle to the Hell of the North, from Count Anton Günther to Horst Janssen. Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg 2012, 19.80 euros