Commemoration day of the tax authority allows research into the robbery of persecuted Jews

The Hamburg tax authorities commissioned an investigation into persecuted Jews a few days before Holocaust Memorial Day. Jaromir Balcar, a historian from Bremen, will create an exhibit in collaboration with the Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centers Foundation.

"Robbed before deportation" is the name of the project. The Hamburg financial administration's primary concern was Nazi persecution victims.

Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) stated on Monday that the authority is providing 203,000 euros for this. At the start of 2025, the traveling exhibit will be displayed in the town hall.

According to Dressel, "most of the time, the financial destruction of the persecuted was preceded by the physical and psychological destruction of the persecuted, in which many participated and also enriched themselves.". According to Balcar, the robbing of the persecuted was the main activity of the Secret State Police (Gestapo), which was in charge of issuing orders for property confiscation.

At that time, the Hamburg Financial Administration served as a bridge between the Reich Ministry of Finance and other agencies. In this network of state-organized deprivation, this agency functioned somewhat like a spider, according to Balcar.

On the private side, however, there were also those looking to make a profit, including regular people as well as freight forwarders and auctioneers. There is another project that needs historical processing completed.

This is how the "Decolonize Hamburg! Initiative to deal with the colonial legacy of the city" project advances to the following stage. According to the cultural authority's announcement on Monday, a three-day international think tank titled "Memory in Motion" will begin on Thursday, January 26, and it is expected to generate the initial concepts for an appropriate public commemoration of German colonialism.

There is currently nowhere in Germany that addresses this issue. The opening meeting "Memory in Motion" is anticipated to draw about 50 scientists, artists, and civil society representatives.

By the end of 2023, a network will be established that, in collaboration with other cities and federal states, will advance the discussion on whether there should be a centralized or decentralized "place of learning and remembrance of colonialism.". The "rethinking" of Bismarck is part of a larger initiative called "Decolonize Hamburg! ", which is being carried out by the Hamburg Historical Museums Foundation (SHMH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Media.

Additionally, work has begun on the official competition for architects and artists surrounding the Hamburg Bismarck monument in the Old Elbe Park. An artistic examination of the monument, its history, and its topography is the goal of the international ideas competition "Rethinking Bismarck," according to the announcement.

In the middle of 2023, a panel of industry professionals will select the winning design. The goal, according to SPD Senator for Culture Carsten Brosda, "is to give ourselves as a society the chance to relate to the monument and its history from a contemporary perspective.".

He is eager to see how artistic interpretations of the complex personality of former chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) turn out. In collaboration with and with financial support from the Hamburg Authority for Culture and Media, the Hamburg Historical Museums Foundation has launched the "Decolonize Hamburg! Initiative to deal with the colonial legacy of the city" initiative.

the federal cultural foundation provided the funding. The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media provides financial support to the Federal Cultural Foundation.

According to Dressel, "most of the time, the financial destruction of the persecuted was preceded by the physical and psychological destruction of the persecuted, in which many participated and also enriched themselves.