Kollnau’s Creepy War Memorial

We went back to Kollnau yesterday, the small district of the town of Waldkirch, where we lived during the academic year 2014-2015. It is, in general, a lovely little place, but, right next to the local Catholic church, there is still standing a rather horrific war memorial. It was erected by the Nazis in 1935, with the names of the German soldiers from the village who died in WWI inscribed under a motto reading: “To our heroes”. With its depiction of a fallen soldier with a much bigger than life set of six standing soldiers, it was meant not only to honor their dead but to glorify war and prepare the citizenry for the next war the Nazis knew was to come. After WWII, in 1952, they added the names of the fallen soldiers from WWII, still presumably being described as heroes by the inscription in the center.  

When we lived here a decade ago, we learned that the memorial was indeed deeply controversial among the locals, and that there were ongoing discussions about what to do with it. In the intervening time, the local governing body decided in July of 2018 that the memorial would remain, but that they would add two information panels giving its history. They also decided that there would be a competition with the aim of approving some sort of artistic display with a counter-message. That, apparently, has not happened. While there was, I gather, some sort of one-time event in October of 2018, nothing permanent has happened: We didn’t see anything of the sort, and the only news story I can find is from December of 2019 saying that no decision had been reached about any artistic counter-display. The information panels help (see the pictures, and I’m including translations in the comments), but I still find myself disappointed in the town I briefly called home. 

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First panel, with the history of the memorial:

 History of the Kollnau War Memorial:

 1935: Inaugurated by the National Socialists with a massive three-day propaganda celebration. The purpose of the propaganda celebration was to use this memorial to obscure the horrors and suffering of the First World War and, at the same time, to prepare for the next war.

1947/48: The Kollnau municipal council discussed alternatives: the idea was a simple memorial stone in the cemetery for the dead from both World Wars. Even removing the Nazi memorial was under discussion. But as early as 1947, adding the names of the dead from 1939-1945 to the existing Nazi memorial was also suggested.

 1952: The names of Kollnau's World War II dead were displayed without comment. The missing were listed under the heading: "Comrades, we wait for you." A critical reappraisal would be neglected for decades to come.

 1995 and intensified since 2013: Processing of the Nazi past of the war memorial through city city walks, events, and artistic actions. This public reappraisal was supported by the Kollnau District Council, both Christian churches, the Waldkirch Municipal Archive, and the “Resistance and Workers’ History” task force.

24.07.2018 Resolution by the Kollnau District Council: installation of two information panels at the war Memorial, giving the history of the Nazi memorial and of Pastor Trabold. In addition, an artist competition is to be held with the goal of creating an artistic counter-message.

 This is intended to contrast the memorial with the recognition of the German Bundestag:
"The Second World War was a war of aggression and annihilation, a crime caused by National Socialist Germany."
(Resolution of the German Bundestag, 1997)

Second panel: 

Pastor Eduard Trabold

(1877-1949)

A Christian opponent of National Socialism.

Eduard Trabold came to Kollnau as a Catholic priest in 1910 and led the parish, founded in 1918, until his death in 1949.

At the general meeting of the Kollnau Catholic Workers' Association on February 1, 1931, Pastor Trabold gave a speech in which he distanced himself from the teachings of National Socialism, describing them as "incompatible with Christian principles." In this speech, Trabold also denounced "excessive nationalism," "racial hatred," and the Nazis' euthanasia plans. “It is clear that such principles of National Socialism had to be condemned as heresies by the church authorities, and that a believing Christian cannot be a National Socialist.”

In 1935, Pastor Trabold spent months opposing the militaristic design of the Nazi war memorial. He advocated for a large figure of Christ instead. The Nazi Advisory Center for War Honors in Karlsruhe openly threatened to ban all commemorations if the memorial had a Christian character.

In 1940, Eduard Trabold was arrested by the Freiburg Gestapo. He had been reported for a dispute over a Catholic wedding. After 21 days, he was released following an intervention by the Archbishop's Ordinariate.

In 1947, the Kollnau municipal council honored him on the occasion of his 70th birthday: "It is honorably acknowledged that Pastor Trabold had a warm heart for the poor and did much good during his almost 40 years of service in Kollnau. Despite the injustice and suffering inflicted on him during the Nazi era, he does not seek revenge today, but forgives his former adversaries."

Kollnau Kriegerdenkmal

First Panel.

Second panel