EVERYDAY LIFE – ARMAMENTS – ANNIHILATION PERMANENT EXHIBITION IN MÜHLDORF: the District of Mühldorf during the era of National Socialism MEMORIAL SITES AT MÜHLDORFER HART: Armament Bunker and Concentration Camp Complex INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM OF WALDKRAIBURG: Bunker 29 PUBLISHER: Förderverein Geschichtszentrum Mühldorf e.V. (Registered Association of the Mühldorf History Centre) EDITOR: Waltraud Schreiber Publisher: Förderverein Geschichtszentrum Mühldorf e.V. (Registered Association of the Mühldorf History Centre) Editor: Waltraud Schreiber With the assistance of: Ulrich Fritz, Bavarian Memorial Foundation Marc Spohr, Curator of the Exhibition in the Mühldorf Haberkasten Edwin Hamberger, Archivist for the Town of Mühldorf Anita Kuisle, Office for the History of Technology, Munich, Curator of the Industrial Museum, Walkraiburg Elke Keiper, Museum Director of the Town Museum of Waldkraiburg Layout and Printing: Lanzinger, Oberbergkirchen Funded by: The Förderverein Geschichtszentrum Mühldorf e.V., the district of Mühldorf, the city of Mühldorf, the city of Waldkraiburg and the Industriegemeinschaft Waldkraiburg und Aschau e.V. EVERYDAY LIFE – ARMAMENTS – ANNIHILATION PERMANENT EXHIBITION IN MÜHLDORF: the District of Mühldorf during the era of National Socialism MEMORIAL SITES AT MÜHLDORFER HART: Armament Bunker and Concentration Camp Complex INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM OF WALDKRAIBURG: Bunker 29 PUBLISHER: Förderverein Geschichtszentrum Mühldorf e.V. (Registered Association of the Mühldorf History Centre) EDITOR: Waltraud Schreiber “Everyday Life – Armaments – Annihilation“ OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED OVER FORTY YEARS AGO. BUT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES. Speech by President Richard von Weizsäcker during the Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the End of War in Europe and of National-Socialist Tyranny on 8 May 1985 at the Bundestag, Bonn 2 Foreword and Introduction FOREWORD that provides present-day people with guidance for their actions both now and in the future. A particular issue that the Association faced in 1. The Förderverein “Geschichtszent- the course of this work was the project to create rum Mühldorf e.V.“ (Registered Association a permanent exhibition of the Nazi history. This of the Mühldorf History Centre) aimed to continue what the former Director of the District Museum, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Spagl, had The „Verein zur Förderung des Kreisheimatmu- started with the exhibition “... until everything was seums und der Heimatpflege im Lkr. Mühldorf shattered“: a factual and simultaneously profound a. Inn e.V.“ (Registered Association for the Pro- analysis of National Socialism within the district motion of the Local History Museum and Local which shed light on local events. Traditions in the District of Mühldorf a. Inn), founded in 1974, changed its name to „För- The new exhibition also aimed to establish a close derverein Geschichtszentrum Mühldorf e.V.“ connection to the armament bunker and the con- (Registered Association of the Mühldorf His- centration camp complex at Mühldorfer Hart. The tory Centre) as a response to an increase in initiatives to remember those who had died in the the scope of its activities that had arisen over concentration camps were also to be incorpora- the years. Today, the Association does, in fact, ted into the project. not only promote activities of the Museum of Mühldorf. On the contrary, it also initiates In addition, specific aspects of the district needed district-wide history projects, assists with their to be considered, such as the Ecksberg Home for implementation and provides financial support the Disabled and the local euthanasia killings or for their fulfilment. the gunpowder factories in Aschau and Kraiburg. In this way, it would also be possible to establish One of its main tasks is to bring together the par- links to the historical activities carried out by the ticipants involved in historical work, supporters parish of Aschau and the city of Waldkraiburg, from their respective organisations, representa- particularly to the local museum in Bunker 29. tives from politics, society and the economy and potential sponsors for the individual projects. This book demonstrates that these efforts have A form of working that has been developed for been successful. There are now three different this purpose over time is the targeted creation of exhibition projects related to the Nazi era within cross-institutional working groups. the district. They complement each other and show collectively what commemorative work This development is not least due to the fact that can achieve in a somewhat rural district such as Eva Köhr, Chairperson of the Association since Mühldorf. The financing of this book concludes 2006, is active in local politics, involved in nume- the work of the Association in this focal area. rous regional and supra-regional associations and, through her family, has good contacts to the eco- Our thanks goes to Professor Waltraud Schreiber, nomy. Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Associa- tion, for the conceptual development and produc- 2. The Content-Related Focus of Recent tion of the publication. May this volume achieve Years: Dealing with the Nazi Past as a the aim of making people within and without our Whole district aware of our historical activities. Dealing with the Nazi era should take place in We have decided to publish this book on the such a way that it becomes accepted as an integ- World Wide Web. It can be downloaded, for example, ral part of local history and is not allowed to sink from www.museum-muehldorf.de. It can be into oblivion or be ignored. At the same time, it downloaded as a complete document or in parts, should be connected to commemorative work related to one of the exhibition projects. 3 Informations and Backgrounds The English translation is also freely accessible. rial. This could not be created in the outside area It is particularly intended for the descendants of the Mühldorfer Hart due to site development of the concentration camp prisoners and forced legislation and technical ground conditions. labourers who had to work on the armament pro- The feasibility study was the basis for the resoluti- jects within the district, often under inhuman and on made by the district and city councils to estab- fatal conditions. lish a permanent exhibition in the Haberkasten in Finally, the initiatives of the Association that focus Mühldorf. This meant that the Association’s long on the Nazi past will be outlined. In this way, the cherished wish started to become reality. Association itself will be presented as part of the The working group quickly agreed that the Stif- regional commemorative culture. tung Bayerische Gedenkstätten (Bavarian Memo- rial Foundation) should take on the responsibility 3. Association Initiatives to Examine the for the planning of the memorial at Mühldorfer Nazi Past within the District Hart and its later implementation and that the re- sponsible regional bodies should be in charge of For almost 40 years, many volunteers have tried the permanent exhibition. The Foundation spon- to keep the memory of the atrocities of National sored an architectural competition for the design Socialism and the concentration camp complex of the entire are in 2012. The conceptual design by at Mühldorfer Hart alive. The “Verein für das Erin- Latz + Partner was selected. nern“ (Remembrance Society) played a particular- ly important role in this work. The efforts to create A setback was suffered in that the application for a dignified memorial in Mühldorfer Hart, however, the promotion of memorials from state funds, remained unsuccessful. submitted by the Stiftung Bayerische Gedenkstät- ten (Bavarian Memorial Foundation), was refused The working group “KZ-Außenlager Mühldorfer due to “a lack of authentic building fabric and Hart“ (Concentration Camp Complex at Mühldor- non-existent national significance”. fer Hart) was founded in 2010 as an initiative of the Following the decision of the town council and Assocation, in order to combine forces. Alongside county council to establish a permanent exhibition, the Association and the Remembrance Society, the working group consistently pursued the aim to the following members belong to it: District Pro- drive forward the planning and implementation of moter of Local Traditions, Representatives of the the permanent exhibition in the Haberkasten of District of Mühldorf and the Town of Mühldorf, Mühldorf. To this aim, it worked closely with scien- the regional political powers. Members also inclu- tists and museum experts to develop a concept. ded experts from the respective regional authori- ties: Stiftung Bayerische Gedenkstätten (Bavarian The Association and Regional Office for Non-State Memorial Foundation), KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau Museums jointly funded the position of a cura- (Concentration Camp Memorial, Dachau), Regio- tor. Marc Spohr was chosen, which proved to be nal Office for Non-State Museums, Bavarian State a fortunate decision. The section of the exhibition Forests, State Building Authorities of Rosenheim, „Everyday Life – Armaments – Annihilation. The State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, district of Mühldorf during National Socialism” the Government of Oberbayern. verifies this appraisal. The working group led by Eva Köhr adopted a In November 2015, the permanent exhibition structured approach. Its proposal to commission was opened. Survivors of the concentration camp a feasibility study was taken up by the District of complex attended