Cottbus: A Train Station of Remembrance at the Human Rights Center
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A train station becomes a place of remembrance
The special exhibition “Cottbus: A Train Station of Remembrance. Deportations and Forced Labor in National Socialism” focuses on the role of the Cottbus train station during the Nazi era. At the Cottbus Human Rights Center, local city history is connected with European persecution history, historical research, and cultural education.
Transport hub and site of persecution
The Cottbus train station was not a neutral transport location during National Socialism. In 1938, Jewish people with Polish citizenship were deported from Cottbus and the surrounding area to Poland. During World War II, deportation trains passed through Cottbus to ghettos in occupied Poland and to Theresienstadt. Transport from cities in Western and Southern Germany as well as occupied Western European countries also crossed the tracks of Cottbus.
Four thematic areas of precise curation
The exhibition follows four interconnected narratives: the exclusion and disenfranchisement of the Jewish population, the station as a transit point for deportation trains, the women's prison Cottbus as a site of political detention, and the daily life of forced labor in businesses and institutions of the city.
Documents, historical information, and biographical references illustrate how thousands of people were taken to industrial enterprises, the Reichsbahn, local authorities, and farms to perform forced labor. The presentation connects transport history, persecution history, and the history of economic exploitation.
Names, places, and fates in the remembrance space
A media installation uses the design of historical departure boards to name names, deportation sites, and specific fates. Writing, light, movement, and proximity to the memorial create a concentrated exhibition atmosphere. The installation does not replace a historical source but transforms documentary material into a compelling spatial experience.
The artistic experience of this exhibition is not created through decorative painting or classical sculpture but through the connection of documents, spatial impact, and historical testimony. The artwork reflects the way in which remembrance is curated, communicated, and anchored in public space. Thus, the aesthetic experience becomes an access point for political education and personal reflection.
Culture of remembrance with contemporary relevance
The project was developed as part of the program “MemoRails – Stop! Here, NS history is remembered” by the Foundation of Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future and is funded by the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Culture and Media. Participants include the Cottbus Human Rights Center e.V., exhibeo e.V., the AG Stolpersteine Cottbus, and the Cottbus Municipal Collections.
The exhibition not only questions historical processes but also the contemporary significance of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Cultural education is understood as an active engagement with responsibility.
Conclusion: A compelling artistic experience at the historical site
Visitors can expect a factually precise and emotionally concentrated exhibition on deportations, transport of prisoners, and forced labor in Cottbus. Those who want to connect city history, culture of remembrance, and political education will experience an intense aesthetic experience here. A visit to the Cottbus Human Rights Center opens new perspectives on the history of the city and makes remembrance immediately tangible.
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- Website: https://www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de/
