Cottbus: A Station of Remembrance Makes Nazi History Visible
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A Station Becomes a Place of Remembrance
The special exhibition "Cottbus: A Station of Remembrance. Deportations and Forced Labor in National Socialism" makes a long-suppressed part of Cottbus city history visible. At the Human Rights Center Cottbus, historical research is combined with memorial work, cultural education, and a compelling media installation.
Historical Traces Between Tracks and Memorial Site
The Cottbus station was more than an ordinary transportation hub during the Nazi era. From here, in 1938, Jewish people with Polish citizenship were expelled from Cottbus and the region to Poland. During World War II, deportation trains ran over the Cottbus tracks to ghettos in occupied Poland and to Theresienstadt. Transport from western and southern German cities, as well as from occupied Western European countries, also passed through the station.
The exhibition also examines the role of the Deutsche Reichsbahn as part of the Nazi persecution and extermination policy. Prisoner transports to and from the women's prison Cottbus expand the historical panorama to include themes of political detention, disenfranchisement, and state-organized violence.
Forced Labor as Part of Cottbus City History
Another focus is on the people who were forcibly brought to Cottbus for work during World War II. In industrial enterprises, at the Reichsbahn, in municipal institutions, and on farms, forced laborers had to work under inhumane conditions. The presentation connects individual fates with the structures of administration, economy, and transport.
Media Installation with Names and Deportation Sites
A digital media installation draws on the familiar format of historical departure boards. Names, dates, previous addresses, and deportation sites make visible that behind the transports were concrete life stories. The aesthetic experience of the exhibition arises from the contrast between the factual language of logistical processes and the personal dimension of loss, deportation, and remembrance.
Historical Education and Responsibility
The project connects local city history with European culture of remembrance. It was created as part of the program “MemoRails – Stop! Here, Remembrance of Nazi History Occurs” by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future and is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. Participating organizations include the Human Rights Center Cottbus, exhibeo e. V., the AG Stolpersteine Cottbus, and the Municipal Collections Cottbus.
The perspective of the present also belongs to the curation: The exhibition understands historical education as a contribution to human rights, the rule of law, and social cohesion. Thus, the reflection on the work becomes, in a metaphorical sense, a confrontation with the question of how remembrance creates responsibility in public space.
Conclusion: An Impassioned Art Experience of Remembrance Culture
Visitors should not expect a decorative exhibition, but rather a concentrated, historically grounded engagement with deportation, forced labor, and the responsibility of institutional actors. The atmosphere of the exhibition lives from names, places, documents, and the silent impact of the media installation. Anyone who wants to understand Cottbus as a place of remembrance and experience cultural education directly should absolutely visit this special exhibition on site.
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- Website: https://www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de/
