80 years later: Hamburg commemorates the end of the Second World War!
80 years later: Hamburg commemorates the end of the Second World War!
Hamburg, Deutschland - On May 8, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be celebrated in Europe. Numerous memorial events take place in Hamburg on the occasion of this significant date. A central memorial event is carried out at the Ohlsdorf cemetery, where more than 50,000 war deaths are buried. Hamburg's second mayor Katharina Fegebank (Greens) will be among the expected participants to honor the British soldiers who occupied Hamburg and Northern Germany 80 years ago. At the time, these troops freed thousands of labor camps, concentration camps and prisons.
The context of the war in Ukraine is also particularly emphasized, since some wounded Ukrainian soldiers will take part in the memorial event. Furthermore, an event is planned on the Jungfernstieg, organized by left -wing groups, in which the controversial association "Russpublika e.V." participates. From 5:30 p.m. there will be a liberation festival on the town hall market, which was invited by the association of the persecuted of the Nazi regime. It is noteworthy that the end of the war in Hamburg was already registered on May 3, 1945, but on May 6, 2025 a large commemorative event is planned in the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial. On May 8, 1945, the German Wehrmacht surrendered, while numerous cities and camps had previously been freed by the Allies.historical context and military events
May 3, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Hamburg's liberation from the Nazi dictatorship. Historian Helmut Stubbe Da Luz has dealt with the role of the Nazi leadership in Hamburg, which could be considered a savior. On May 3, 1945, British troops occupied under the command of Marshal Montgomery Hamburg. The British tanks reached the town hall, where the city was handed over to a British general by NS Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann. Merchant and fighter commander Alwin Wolz had previously agreed on a hand without a fight, since Kaufmann had warned of Hamburg on May 2nd before the "completely annihilation" of Hamburg.
The provisional mayor Rudolf Petersen praised Kaufmann for having saved the city from a senseless struggle. In the post -war years there were various interpretations of the events, with state archivist Kurt Detlev Möller claimed in 1947 that merchant and Wolz had made a decisive contribution to the rescue of Hamburg. However, historians argue that Hamburg's hand without a fight is due to favorable circumstances. The British troops had crossed the Rhine in March 1945 and moved towards the Elbe, while Hitler and the Wehrmacht's senior command mobilized the last resources to destroy the infrastructure before the Allies arrived. Hamburg parliamentary also sought contact with the British troops to protect the city.
Both events and the associated memories of history illustrate the complexity of the events around the end of the war and the released exemptions. Over the years, the perception of this time has developed, which is also reflected in the current memorial events that give both the victims and the complex historical narrative space.
For detailed insights into the events and their historical importance, the reports of ndr and
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| Ort | Hamburg, Deutschland |
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