Reply to 13. renaming of Lorlebergplatz and (...)

13. renaming of the streets Lorlebergplatz and Hindenburgstraße

It is suggested that Lorlebergplatz be renamed Henning-von-Tresckow- Platz and Hindenburgstraße be renamed Henning-von-Tresckow-Straße.

Reply from the city archives:
Subject to the establishment of a "Street Names" working group to deal with the problem of street names that are viewed critically today and to find a uniform regulation for dealing with similar cases, the City Council of Elders has decided not to rename any streets/squares that affect local residents.
As for Werner Lorleberg, recent research has indeed proven him to be the savior of the city. Before his brief deployment as a so-called "combat commander", the lieutenant colonel was deployed in Russia, from where he returned to Germany wounded. In Erlangen, he not only did nothing to build up a defense against the approaching Americans, but waited until they arrived before handing over the town, which was overcrowded with wounded in the military hospitals, so that SS units still fighting in Bruck and Tennenlohe would no longer have the opportunity to take revenge on those responsible for the handover and on the town. Lorleberg shot himself at the Thalermühle on April 16, 1945, shortly before the expiry of an American ultimatum, after he had persuaded a small group of young soldiers who wanted to offer resistance and insulted his officer's honor to surrender after all.
Hindenburgstraße was named on February 18, 1915 as one of the first streets in Germany after another victory of General Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in the First World War against the Russians, so it does not honor him as the later promoter Adolf Hitler. At a lecture series at the Friedrich Alexander University on November 16, 2021, Hindenburg was presented in a very differentiated way by its archivist. A proposal to rename Hindenburgstraße was not made.
Street signs are an excellent medium for providing a lasting basis for the current cry of "never again!", which is directed against right-wing activities. The future "Street Names" working group will find a way to use these examples to explain why a tribute was once paid and why it would not be done again today.