Martin Luther House – Traces of the past

Martin Luther House Cologne

Image by Marcel Krueger

Martin Luther House – Traces of the past

Marcel Krueger photo

Marcel from Cologne

I'm a writer and translator, and love to write about history and travel, or the ...

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Sometimes I find that the past in Cologne can only be traced by faint outlines, and you need to know where to look for it. One example for this can be found in the quiet Bayenthal neighbourhood in the south of the city. At the Martin Luther House, the parish hall of the local community planned by architect Clemens Klotz and built by the Evangelical parish between 1933 and 1934, was a relief depicting Martin Luther on one side and an SA man (the street thugs of the Nazi party) and a swastika on the other, to symbolise the strong connection of the church with Hitler’s politics.

This side of the relief was chipped off in 1945, but the outline of the SA man has been preserved. In 1985 a memorial plaque was installed to commemorate the church’s involvement in the injustice of the Nazi regime. The inscription reads:

“Justice elevates a nation, but sin is the destruction of its people.”

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Marcel from Cologne

Marcel Krueger photo

I'm a writer and translator, and love to write about history and travel, or the ...

Read all articles

Details about this spot

Categories

Address

Mehlemer Str. 27, Cologne

Telephone number

+49221384338

Opening Times

24 hours daily

Website

Last Changed Date: 2016-05-19 11:45:13 +0200 (Thu, 19 May 2016)