Names of two war criminals removed from war memorial in Forstenried

The City of Munich has removed the names of two war criminals from the war memorial in Forstenried. The names have been made illegible by metal bars fixed over them, and a new plaque with a QR code explains the history of the memorial and the reasons for the change.

The two men are the brothers Ludwig and Josef Kübler. Both were convicted of war crimes and executed in 1947. Their names had been among those added to the memorial in 1951.

The memorial has commemorated soldiers killed in the First World War since 1922. In 1951 it was extended to include the names of civilian victims and of soldiers killed in the Second World War. The city says the new plaque makes the memorial's historical context visible and is part of a wider examination of how war memorials are remembered.

The Department of Arts and Culture and District Committee 19 (Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Forstenried-Fürstenried-Solln) are inviting the public to a presentation of the critical commentary on Thursday 22 October at 4pm. It will take place in the parish hall of the Catholic Church Foundation of Heilig Kreuz Forstenried, Forstenrieder Allee 180.

The head of the Department of Arts and Culture, Marek Wiechers, will open the event together with the chair of District Committee 19, Dr Ludwig Weidinger. The historian Dr Karin Pohl and the cultural scientist Dr Bettina Keß will then speak about the memorial's history, including what war memorials mean today and how they can be handled responsibly.

Admission is free and no registration is required.