REMEMBRANCE FORMS COLLECTIVELY,
AMONG PEOPLE WHO ARE ALIVE TODAY.
The WALDNIEL MEMORIAL SITE shows how this idea of remembrance can be realized at a concrete site. The idea has become a reality because so many have spoken and acted against forgetting for decades.
The WALDNIEL MEMORIAL SITE is located at the former institute cemetery. In 1962 the Parish St.Mariae Himmelfahrt consecrated it as a memorial cemetery. In early 1986, based on a citizen proposal, the Jugend-, Kultur- und Sozialausschuss of the Municipality of Schwalmtal unanimously decided to lease this meanwhile deconsecrated cemetery from the parish and set it up as a memorial site for victims of “Nazi euthanasia.” In early 1987, sponsorship for the emerging memorial site was transferred to the local Schwalmtal high school, currently called the Europaschule, upon the school’s request.
Inspired by the appeal of the Working Group for Research on NS Euthanasia and Forced Sterilization in 2012, the Landschaftsverband Rheinland decided in 2016 for the architectural and artistic expansion of the memorial site by the struber_gruber collaborative.
Since November 3, 2016, students from the Europaschule Schwalmtal and the Berufskolleg Viersen have actively participated in the search for sponsors for the redesign of the WALDNIEL MEMORIAL SITE.
In June 2017, in the context of a project week, ten of these students, together with artists from the Kunsthaus Kannen, Kannen-“Art House” Museum for Outsider Art and Art Brut will produce the cast forms for the sphere sculptures that are to be displayed at the memorial site. During the project week, the Alexianer Münster will provide catering and transportation. The Hotel Am Wasserturm will provide accommodations at especially reasonable rates. Also providing assistance is the Firma Anft by allowing the collaborative production of the plaster forms for the sculptures to take place on site.
Further information on the history of the memorial site can be found at www.waldniel-hostert.de. This website is provided by the initiators of the memorial site; they have investigated the historical background, and, above all, gathered the essential list of names.
Active at the institutions, clubs, and communities included in this long list are many individuals who have shown their support through the personal involvement and courage necessary to allow something unusual to arise.
We thank you sincerely!
struber_gruber
ak-ns-euthanasie.de
alexianer-hotel-am-wasserturm.de
alexianer-muenster.de
www.anft-kunstguss.de
berufskolleg-viersen.de
ghs-schwalmtal.de
kunsthaus-kannen.de
lvr.de
st-mariae-himmelfahrt-schwalmtal.de
waldniel-hostert.de
If you would like to fill out a sponsorship form, please click here.
