Among the half-timbered houses that stand in the heart of the town of Salzwedel in the Altmark, one particularly stands out. It stands at the point where the street narrows, opposite a cafe where it the famous Salzwedeler Baumkuchen and spreads Italian flair with its arcade. The building has two floors, each with eight windows; on the second floor a glass pane has been replaced by wooden cladding.
Not only the pillars of the arcade, but also the colorful drawings that decorate the wall in front of the entrance door are more reminiscent of southern climes than of a place in Saxony-Anhalt. They show sights of the city such as a gate to the castle and the St. Lawrence Church.
A memorial for those who died in the world wars is also painted. But where “the fallen sons” are mourned, a white square covers the letters. Perhaps an intervention critical of militarism? There are other political slogans on the walls of the house: “Fuck Nazis and the State” it says in somewhat bumpy English, but with a clearly anti-fascist and anti-government message.
The peculiarity
The house stands in a prominent location right in the heart of Salzwedel and stands out with its arcade and murals. Until their deportation by the Nazis, the Jewish Hirsch family lived here and ran a fashion store on the ground floor.
The target group
The Salzwedel cooperative “Transformative Living” wants to turn the house into a public meeting place. If this plan succeeds, all residents of the city in the Altmarkkreis would benefit from it.
Obstacles on the way
Now all that’s left to do is raise the money; a sum of 30,000 euros was initially discussed. And the heirs of the previous owners, who own the majority of the house, must be identified and give their consent to the plans.
A slogan on one of the windows on the second floor of the house remains puzzling. “No Love for Anarchy” is written there. Is this a color-based dispute among leftists?
However, the printed messages on the pieces of paper hanging in the arcade of the house are very clear. “Clara Weil, David Hirsch, Hanna Hirsch, Rachel Hirsch, we won’t forget you,” it reads there. They are the names of the four former Jewish residents of the house.
Four stumbling blocks in front of the house in which the Hirsch family ran a “fashion and cleaning shop” for many years also commemorate them. In addition to clothing, their range also included hats and underwear.
David Hirsch was born in 1906 and died in the Warsaw Ghetto. His wife Hanna Hirsch, born in 1911, was murdered in Auschwitz, and their daughter Rachel Hirsch, born in 1939, was murdered in Theresienstadt. Clara Weil, born in 1883, died during the deportation.
At the expense of the residents
Another piece of paper in the arcade reminds us that the house at Burgstrasse 59 was attacked on Kristallnacht. On that day, synagogues, shops and homes of Jewish people were targets of a mob controlled by the Nazis. “On November 9, 1938, the SA destroyed the shop windows of the house,” the note says. The building police then ordered that the windows be replaced at the residents’ expense. In its devastated state, the house would “spoil” the cityscape.
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It is all the more distressing that the residential building, which has been empty for several years, has now again been treated like an eyesore. The Altmarkkreis Salzwedel had provided 130,000 euros for the demolition of the house, which is considered in need of renovation. The excavators should be rolling at the beginning of November.
The backyard of Burgstrasse 59 is already a stone desert, as can be quickly seen when looking over a construction fence in the side street. All preparations had already been made for the demolition of Burgstrasse 59. Even the signs identifying the construction site had already been put up.
But not everyone in Salzwedel agrees with the demolition. Participants of the local Stolperstein walk on November 9th occupied the construction site the following morning and demanded that the building be preserved as a place of remembrance for Jewish life in Salzwedel.
Initially, the police arrived and issued orders to evict them, and 17 people were charged with initial suspicion of trespassing. But the action has reopened the debate about the building’s future. The organization is now working to preserve it Transformative Living Cooperative (TraWo). Founded four years ago, it wants to save dilapidated buildings in Salzwedel from demolition and create affordable living space.
Cooperative in discussion
She has already taken over a former bookstore in the city. TraWo is now in discussions with the Jewish Claims Conference in Frankfurt, which holds a share in the house alongside the heirs of the murdered previous owners. The cooperative could try to take over this share. She has offered to hold the house in trust until a solution is found.
The city of Salzwedel has now reacted and announced a moratorium on demolition until the end of February 2026. By then, a concept should be developed as to how the building can be renovated and preserved.