Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Deportation to Gurs

Scan of a newspaper article 'The Deported Will Not Be Forgotten'

On Friday, October 22, 2010, the 70th anniversary of the deportation to Gurs was commemorated. The Stolpersteine Initiative marked this day with your help.

On October 22, 1940, almost all Jews still remaining in Heidelberg were deported to Gurs in southern France. There were nearly 300 people from the city area and over 100 from the then-district of Heidelberg; this action was part of the deportation of Baden and Saarpfalz Jews, and it was the first major deportation from the German Reich.

The train to Gurs departed from track 1a of the main station at around 6:00 PM on October 22, 1940.

With the help of the city's surveying office, the exact location of this former track area was determined. The track began almost precisely at the passage between the Sparkasse and Volksbank in Kurfürsten-Anlage and ended at the current city library.

A memorial and commemorative event took place at this authentic location, the city library. Among other things, actors from the Municipal Theater recited texts.

In October 1940, many Jewish individuals no longer lived in their original homes and apartments but had been assigned to so-called "Jewish houses." On October 22, 2010, many people—mainly students—walked in groups from some of these ghetto houses to the former track 1a.

The routes:

Route from Marktplatz 7: Through Hauptstraße via Bismarckplatz to Rohrbacherstraße and Poststraße. The students of KFG highschool meet at 4:00 PM and start walking at 4:15 PM.
Route from Landfriedstraße 14: Through Märzgasse to Hauptstraße (corner of Märzgasse, meeting with the group from Marktplatz), continuing as the route from Markt 7. The students of Hölderlin highschool meet at 4:15 PM and start walking at 4:25 PM.
Route from Moltkestraße 13: To Handschuhsheimer Landstraße, Brückenstraße, Bismarckplatz, and Poststraße. The students of St. Raphael highschool meet at 4:15 PM and start walking at 4:30 PM.
Route from Häusserstraße 4: To Bahnhofstraße, along Kurfürsten-Anlage (Bauhaus) to the meeting point. The students of Helmholtz highschool meet at 4:30 PM and start walking at 4:40 PM.
Route from Bunsenstraße 19a: To Häusserstraße, meeting with the group from Häusserstraße 4, then continuing as above. The students of IGH highschool and highschool Waldorfschule meet at 4:30 PM and start walking at 4:40 PM.
Route from Bergheimerstraße 25: Along Bergheimerstraße to the passage in front of "Alnatura" to Poststraße. The students of highschool Carl-Bosch-Schule meet at 4:30 PM and start walking at 4:40 PM.