Neckarelz Concentration Camp Memorial

Basic Information

Opening hours 2023

 

every Sunday, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
between Sunday, January 29 and Sunday November 26, 2023

With prior registration, guided group tours can be arranged for any weekday, and at any time - including the months of December and January.

Admission Fees

Admission Fees
PriceDiscounted*
Admission (single)3,50 €1,50 €
Group Admission per person (from 7 people)2,50 €1,50 €
Guided Tours per Group (plus group admission price  per person)25,00 €10,00 €

*) Discounted admission fees apply to association members, students and trainees. Proof of ID may be requested.

Would you like to visit us with a group?

 

Whether you are a school class, a youth group, club or any other type of group - we look forward to welcoming you as our guest and visitor. All important information regarding group tours have been put together on a special page for you.

A Place to Learn on the Schoolgrounds

In March 1944, the primary school in the village of Neckarelz, was converted into the concentration camp known as Neckarelz I. The school was used as a concentration camp for twelve months. After the war, it was once again used as a school - today it is the Clemens Brentano Elementary School.
Almost 70 years later, in October 2011, the Concentration Camp Neckarelz Memorial Association opened the new memorial on the school grounds. It stands directly across from the elementary school, and replaced the old 1998 memorial.  Today, Neckarelz is part of the district of Mosbach.

The Memorial´s permanent exhibition , as well as the "Goldfish" historical trail in Obrigheim recount the history of the six so called Neckar Camps: Neckarelz I (school) and Neckarelz II, Neckargerach, Asbach, Neckarbischofsheim and Bad Rappenau. These Concentration Camps were satellite camps of the main camp Natzweiler-Struthof (Vosges). They all came into being over the course of the year 1944, and were set up around an underground ammunition factory that went by the code name  "Goldfish". 

 

It is the distinct architecture of the Memorial building that catches one´s eye. As soon as you enter the schoolyard, you can`t help but notice the fence of gradually darkening beams. They resemble the stripes of the prisoner´s garb, but also that of a digital bar code...

When standing inside the building, the beams allow you a view of the school that was used as a concentration camp, and of the schoolyard, which served as the roll call place. At the same time, the world seems barred: The lines between outside and inside, between past and present become blurred. 

The architect Andreas Maria Lang created a fence of beams that has become the new Memorial´s most impressive element, and gives it its unmistakable face.

The Building

It is the Memorial building´s distincive architecture that catches one´s eye. When one enters the schoolyard, it is the elongated building with its curtain of gradually darkening beams or slats that immediately attract your attention. They resemble the stripes of the prisoner´s garb, but at the same time, it reminds us of modern day bar codes - A modern symbol of the gathering of data. When the sun shines, the beams´ shadows fall on the floor of the memorial, marking the floor with a striped pattern.

The curtain of beams was designed by the architect Andreas Maria Lang, and it is the most impressive element of the new memorial, giving it an unmistakable and distinctive face.


The Exhibition

When standing inside the building, your view through the slats looks out at both the school that once served as the concentration camp, as well as the school yard, which was used for roll call. At the same time, it appears as if the world is behind bars: The lines between inside and outside, between past and present become blurred. This helps the observer to travel back to the years 1944/45, something that is inevitable while visiting the memorial.

The interior of the memorial is divided into four rooms. Each room has its own theme, and tells the story from a different perspective.