At school year 1994/95 an idea was developed to build a memorial stone wall on our school ground to remember Jewish fellow citizens who lived in Berlin-Schöneberg. This idea was based on the artist Horst Hoheisel from Kassel who gave stimulus on his "memorial from down below" in the framework of the 6th grade teaching lesson "National Socialism".

At the beginning of the 20th century the Bavarian Quarter (Bayerisches Viertel) was also called "Jewish Switzerland", as it was the centre of Jewish life: At the beginning of the 30s approx. 16.000 Jews lived near Löcknitz Primary School.

Class in 1931

Photo by  H. Seidel, pupil of the Löcknitz-Grundschule in 1931 

On the today's ground of Löcknitz Primary School the Jewish synagogue Münchener Straße 37 was inaugurated in 1910. It formed the centre for Jewish life of the Bavarian Quarter. The synagogue was hardly damaged on 9th November 1938 but largely fell victim to the bomb attacks during World War II and was finally torn down in 1956. Today there is a part of the school pavilion on the place where the synagogue was originally situated, but the synagogue´s outline is visible through gardening architecture.                

                    Synagogue Münchener Straße  37                                                                         Synagogue and school

Pictures taken from "Vereinssynagogen" - museum of local history Berlin-Schöneberg

At the hedge bordering the school ground at Münchener Straße, there is a monument of the district government. Since 1993, the roads of the school districts are lined with signs telling of the deportation and persecution of Jews.

           Memorial  Münchener Straße 37                                                                           Photos by C. Niclasen

This has caused the school’s particular commitment to this chapter of our history. Therefore, the teaching unit “National Socialism” in class 6 always includes the intensive occupation with the fate of Jewish fellow citizens with regard to the pupils’ age. Contemporary witnesses tell of their experiences at school, commemorative street signs are being explained while walking in the district, classes attend the annual wreath laying ceremony of the district and visit the exhibitions and classes of the museum of local history.

The next ceremony of our 6th graders will take place on June 23rd  2011.

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