Memorial Points on Campus

As a result of the project to review the National-Socialist era and its consequences, virtual and real memorial points make visitors aware of connections to the National-Socialist era.

Graves of Isabella Sikoska and Peter Ralintschenko

Grass had grown over the remains of Isabella Sikorska (1888 to 1945) and Peter Ralintschenko (1894 to 1945), who were deported to Hohenheim as forced laborers under the National-Socialist dictatorship.

Isabella Sikorska was arrested during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and deported to the concentration camp in Ravensbrueck. Upon her arrival in Hohenheim, she was apparently in terrible health: She died only a few days later. The death certificate lists “heart insufficiency, pneumonia” as the cause of death.

Peter Ralintschenko died a year after his arrival in Hohenheim in a fatal accident. The accident occurred in February 1945 in the Animal Breeding Institute. No further details about his death could be found in the archives.

Sikorska and Ralintschenko were buried in the University cemetery without any markers on their graves. After that, their graves were forgotten.

Only after she reviewed documents as part of the “project on a historical review of the National-Socialist period and its consequences” did historian Dr. Anja Waller rediscover the graves. Since the memorial event on 12 November 2018, two granite cubes with the initials of the deceased mark their final resting places.

Location: University Cemetery

Sculpture to Commemorate the Forced Laborers

“Let their names serve as a warning to us”. That is what the sculpture calls for. It was placed in memory of Isabella Sikorska (1888 to 1945) and Peter Ralintschenko (1894 to 1945) as representatives of all forced laborers, who were deported to Hohenheim under the National-Socialist dictatorship.

The archives reveal at least 242 forced laborers who were exploited in the experimental fields, in institutes, or as housekeepers starting in 1940.

As of 12 November 2018, a memorial stele at the entry of the cemetery will commemorate the fate of the forced laborers. Sikorska’s and Ralintschenko’s graves themselves will be marked with two simple cubes made of the same material with the initials of the deceased.

Location: University Cemetery

Information on Hohenheim Presidents’ Ties to National-Socialism

In Hohenheim, there was no resistance to speak of when the National-Socialists seized power and the universities were subjected to enforced standardization (Gleichschaltung).

During the war, the professors actively participated in re-settlement and settlement of occupied territories or in the theft of scientific material. During the post-war period, some of these activities were repressed for decades.
This can be seen in some of the presidents’ biographies, as well. Some people knew how to benefit from the situation. Others experienced disadvantages. The repression was particularly evident in the 1960s with the appointment of a former SS functionary as president.

Since 12 November 2018, a sign under the photo gallery of all directors and presidents of the University of Hohenheim discloses this information. An internet site lists biographical details of six presidents from 1933 to 1945 and six other selected predecessors and successors who had ties to National-Socialism.

Location: Tannenzapfenzimmer in front of the Aula, Hohenheim Palace, central building, 1st upper level

Information on Portrait of the President and SS Functionary Günther Franz

It is also striking how quickly the University repressed its past in the same year that the war ended. In December 1945, teaching operations had already started again. For decades, Hohenheim did not face its own past.

This repression culminated in the appointment of Prof. Dr. Günther Franz. As a confessing National-Socialist, the agricultural scientist became a member of the NSDAP (National-Socialist Party) and SA (Sturmabteilung) in 1933. In 1944, he was an Obersturmführer in the SS. In the Head Reich Security Office, he was active as a scientific coordinator in “opponent research.”

After the end of the war, the confessing National-Socialist worked to re-enter science. He wasn’t successful until relatively late, but then he was very successful when he was appointed as the Chair of Agricultural History in Hohenheim in 1957. Prof. Dr. Franz influenced research in agricultural history until the early 1970s.
From 1963 until 1967, the former SS officer was even President of the University. In 1968, he wrote the festschrift for the University’s 150th anniversary.

Since 12 November 2018, a sign under the presidents’ oil portraits points out his National-Socialist past. An internet site lists biographical details of six presidents from 1933 to 1945 and six other selected predecessors and successors who had ties to National-Socialism.

Location: Hallway to Green Room, Hohenheim Palace, central building, 1st upper level

Location of Memorial Points

National-Socialist Presidents and Denazification

Part 2/3 of the article series on findings from the research project. more

Forced Laborers in Hohenheim

Part 3/3 of the article series on findings from the research project (7 November 2018) more