Project history

Shaping remembrance

In 2015, all parliamentary groups represented on the city council requested the creation of a "place of remembrance" for these people and asked the administration to initiate a dialog (parliamentary group motion 001/2015).

The advisory board (2017-2020)

In February 2017, an advisory board was formed for the establishment of a memorial to the "euthanasia" victims at the Erlangen sanatorium and nursing home, which included representatives from the university, the university hospital, the district of Middle Franconia, the district hospital and the city of Erlangen. The Max Planck Institute, the Jewish community and private individuals were also represented. The Lord Mayor (Chair), the Head of Education, Culture and Youth and the Head of Planning and Construction also took part in the meetings of the Advisory Board. The City Archive was responsible for the management.

It was an advisory body that made recommendations rather than legally binding decisions. The decision-makers were either the city council or the institutions responsible for the development of the site of the former sanatorium and nursing home, depending on their responsibilities. The advisory board prepared the first steps for the creation of a place of learning and remembrance.

Creation of a framework concept (2019-2020)

In July 2019, the renowned memorial site expert Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit, director of the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial, and his research assistant Julius Scharnetzky were commissioned to create a framework concept for a future learning and memorial site. The framework concept with ten specific recommendations for action was presented on June 30, 2020. It will form the starting point for the further conception of the learning and memorial site.

The next steps

In 2021, the "Forum Erinnerungs- und Zukunftsort Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Erlangen" was established, which is made up of those involved in the project to date, stakeholders and citizens and is involved in an advisory capacity at the important milestones. The forum meets in public.

In 2022, the city of Erlangen, the district of Middle Franconia and the district of Upper Franconia launched an interdisciplinary urban and open space planning ideas competition. The task of the ideas competition was to propose a framework for a future place of remembrance and future for the Erlangen sanatorium and nursing home. The participants were asked to show how the historical site of the sanatorium and nursing home and the wider urban area of Erlangen could be used to raise awareness of the events and make history visible in a suitable way.

The following were involved in the process and the jury

• District of Middle Franconia
• District of Upper Franconia
• University Hospital Erlangen
• Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg
• State Building Authority Erlangen/Nuremberg
• Forum Place of Remembrance and Future Erlangen Sanatorium and Nursing Home.

The jury for the ideas competition awarded three prizes and two commendations in July 2023.