Memorial to the war dead of
many Nations
(In Bad Doberan Münster)
This memorial plaque is hanging in the Münster of the small German town of Bad Doberan (10km west of Rostock) and as can be seen commemorates the dead of some of the more notable events of W.W.II. What is striking is that Oradour is listed alongside such cities as Hiroshima, Dresden and Stalingrad, as well as places like Auschwitz and Lidice. The legend on the plaque translates as, "Think of the victims and the war dead." As far as I can determine there is no direct connection between Bad Doberan and Oradour-sur-Glane and this plaque just goes to show how widespread is the knowledge and horror of the events of 10th June 1944.
I do not know who decided on the choice of places to include on this plaque, or exactly what criteria they used when compiling the list, but it certainly consists of some of the horrible events of the times. It is noteworthy that the dates shown on the plaque are from 1933 (the year the Nazis came to power) to 1945 (the year of the end of W.W.II.) and that the earliest event commemorated, the bombing of Guernica (27 April 1937) is adjacent to the latest, the bombing of Hiroshima (06 August 1945). Guernica was attacked by the German Condor Legion before W.W.II. started and Hiroshima was destroyed three months after the German surrender, so a real mixture of dates and locations here.
© Michael Williams: July 2011