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Free city tour: football history and culture of remembrance in Bochum!
On October 18th, Bochum is offering a free city tour on football history and culture of remembrance, meeting point at the town hall.
Free city tour: football history and culture of remembrance in Bochum!
A special city tour is being offered in Bochum to commemorate the dark chapters of the Nazi era. Under the title “1938, just so everyone knows,” Bochum Marketing and the Bochum fan project invite you to a free tour on Saturday, October 18th. The meeting point is at 5 p.m. at the Bochum town hall (Willy-Brandt-Platz). The two-hour tour takes participants through historical places that are linked to the region's football history and the fate of Jewish athletes. The role of sport in the Nazi era is examined - a topic that continues to be relevant to the public.
The city tour is in the context of the 10th “Football Culture Days NRW” and is open to anyone interested, especially fans who want to support Bochum’s football history and the culture of remembrance. Florian Kovatsch from the Bochum fan project will lead the group and provide valuable insights at several stations, including Dr.-Ruer-Platz and the Stolpersteine of the Gottschalk family.
Memory of Erich Gottschalk
The tour builds on a previous initiative exploring the life of Jewish soccer player Erich Gottschalk. Gottschalk, who was active in football in the 1930s, played for TuS Bochum in his youth before moving to TuS Hakoah in 1925. In 1933 the club was renamed Schild Bochum, and Gottschalk captained the team at the last German championship in 1938. His fate is closely linked to the anti-Semitic persecution that began after the National Socialists came to power.
As part of the city tour, awareness of the discrimination against Jews in sports is raised. After the introduction of laws such as the Aryan Paragraph, which was passed on April 7, 1933, the participation of Jews in German sports was severely restricted. Jewish members were excluded from many clubs. The 1936 Olympics were used by the Nazis as a propaganda tool to demonstrate perceived national strength, while at the same time Jewish sports and football, like Gottschalk, were brutally suppressed.
Event details and registration
Participation in the city tour is free, but places are limited. Only 20 places are available, which is why registration is necessary. Interested parties should send their details, including name, desired card number and mobile number, by email to buchungen(at)bochum-tourismus.de. The tour ends at around 7 p.m. at the Ruhrstadion, where the game between VfL Bochum and Hertha BSC Berlin will then kick off.
Such a commitment is important in order to make historical events visible and to enable the connection between culture of remembrance and sports history to be experienced. “Your Football Weekend in Bochum”, which was launched at the beginning of 2024, appeals to a broad audience. Whether home or away fans, young adults or families – everyone is invited to learn more about the past and to actively participate in shaping the culture of remembrance.
For further information on cultural events surrounding VfL Bochum's home games, those interested can visit the Bochum Tourism website: www.bochum-tourismus.de/fussball-wochenende.
This initiative once again shows how important it is to learn from history and to openly engage in dialogue about topics such as the role of sport in National Socialism. This is the only way to keep the memory of victims like Erich Gottschalk alive.