The funding has been cut – Memorial Site S near Gütersloh will be closed.

The memorial site Stalag 326 in the city of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock is closed indefinitely. Since 1996, it has served as a reminder of German war crimes. The closure is a response to a decision made by the Gütersloh district council earlier this week, stating that no funds will be provided for the expansion of the memorial site.

During World War II, there was a prisoner of war camp on the premises where over 310,000 people, mostly from the Soviet Union, were held captive. Many of the inmates died, including tens of thousands who are buried on the site.

The KZ-Gedenkstätte Porta Westfalica, formerly known as Twitter, describes the decision as a „dark day for commemorative culture and democratic educational work.“ The county council’s decision is particularly controversial because it was supported by a majority of CDU, FWG/UWG, and AfD. The FWG/UWG is the Free Voters Association/Independent Voters Association in Gütersloh, not to be confused with the Free Voters party.

Fragen nach der Brandmauer

Damit könnte auch in diesem Teil Westfalens die »Brandmauer nach rechts« infrage stehen, die der CDU-Vorsitzende Friedrich Merz für seine Partei reklamiert. Erst vor Kurzem hatte ein Beschluss im über einen CDU-Antrag im Thüringer Landtag für Streit gesorgt, weil es dafür ohne die Stimmen der rechtsextremen AfD keine Mehrheit gegeben hätte.

In Gütersloh kritisierte der langjährige Europaabgeordnete Elmar Brok, in Ostwestfalen-Lippe Ehrenvoristzender der CDU, die eigene Partei: »Wenn es stimmen sollte, dass die CDU bei solch einem sensiblen Thema wissentlich mit den Stimmen der AfD gerechnet haben sollte, dann wäre das für mich ein Unding«, sagte er der Zeitung »Neue Westfälische«: Er sei »entsetzt, was die CDU-Fraktion da angerichtet hat«. Fraktionschefin Birgit Ernst sagte laut der Zeitung allerdings, dass die Stimmen der AfD bei der Abstimmung nicht ausschlaggebend gewesen seien, es habe je ein Kreistagsmitglied der Grünen, Linken und FDP gefehlt. »Deshalb kam es auf die drei Stimmen der AfD nicht an.«

The 30th anniversary celebration of the Support Association Memorial Stalag 326, which was supposed to take place in October, has been canceled by the association. According to a statement from the board of directors, nobody feels like celebrating at the moment.

And actually, something much bigger was planned for the memorial site: Former President Joachim Gauck had demanded that it be developed into a national center of remembrance (his speech during a visit in 2015 can be read here). The Bundestag later pledged 25 million euros for the expansion of the 60 million euro project. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was supposed to contribute the rest. The annual operating costs of around 4 million euros were to be shared by several districts in Ostwestfalen and the cities of Bielefeld and Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock.

Erinnerungs- und Putzarbeit

The project is far from completion. The work of remembering is mainly carried out by volunteers. The central focus is a permanent exhibition in a former detention barracks. According to the association, the volunteers are responsible for both the historical collection and a library; they organize guided tours, readings, and meetings with witnesses of the time.

The association states in its statement that since its establishment, it has been striving for a stable sponsorship and thus secure financing of the project. In recent years, the Gütersloh district and the Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock municipality have each contributed €25,000 annually towards the operating costs. With the support of generous donors, this has been sufficient for the ongoing operation, although it appears that the association members have made great efforts, even cleaning the premises themselves to save money on cleaning staff.

In the controversial vote at the beginning of the week in the Gütersloh district council, the specific issue was a grant of 400,000 euros that the CDU faction refused, thereby opposing their own district administrator, Sven-Georg Adenauer (CDU). With 33 yes votes and 36 no votes, the district council rejected the operational cost contribution. The closure, which the association announced over the weekend, is now intended to enable negotiations among all parties involved „in peace“.

Aleksandra Klofat, who represents the CDU in the Gütersloher City Council, defended the decision on the X network (formerly Twitter): „It is a fact that the new construction would cost approximately 64 million euros (as of now) and approximately 6 million euros in operation. However, our city is already operating on the verge of budgetary constraints,“ writes Klofat, asking, „Where should we get the money from?“ According to the current plan, Gütersloh would not have to bear these costs alone.