Denkmal für Deserteure und Opfer der NS-Militärjustiz, Memorial site at Appellhofplatz, Cologne, Germany
The monument for deserters and victims of Nazi military justice stands at Appellhofplatz and was designed by Ruedi Baur, with multiple panels displaying information about those persecuted. The installation systematically documents the names and fates of those executed in this area.
The site was once home to Klingelpütz prison, where Nazi military justice executed hundreds of people between 1933 and 1945. The memorial itself was erected in 2009 to finally make this dark history visible and remembered.
The memorial honors people who resisted military service and paid with their lives for this choice. Visitors can see today how society has come to recognize such acts of resistance.
The memorial is located in central Cologne in the Altstadt-Nord district and is freely accessible year-round. The information panels are clearly displayed and the space invites you to pause and reflect quietly.
Among the documented victims were not only soldiers who refused to fight, but also civilians condemned for criticizing the regime. This diversity of those persecuted shows the brutal reach of military justice at that time.
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