The war monument in the heart of the Black Forest town Oppenau at its original erection site from 1934. (photograph from winter 2014).

The monument with the supplementary pillars in the background listing the names of the deads of WWII.

The ensemble is currently "on move": In June 2014 the memorial was demolished to create eleven parkings.

In memoriam temporalis – "memento 190" remains a temporary place of commemoration as long as the memorial has been re-erected.

Looking back in the ambivalent history: "Inauguration of the warrior monument in the 5 villages of the parish of Oppenau. 3 June 1934".

Just with a few metres distance there is the memorial of the sports club (TuS) commemorating its members killed in WW1.

A further place of commemoration is the chapel at the cemetery listing the names of the few soldiers buried in Oppenau.

Yet in 1929 the Schwarzwaldverein has inaugurated a memorial for its killed members in Allerheiligen (historic photograph).

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The memorial for the deads of the First World War which is currently “on move” has always triggered controversies. The local “Kriegerverein” (asscociation of warriors) commissioned the sculptor Hugo Knittel (1888-1958) to build the monument, which was inaugurated with a ceremonial act on 3 June 1934. After 1945 the monument was complemented with two pillars comprising memorial tablets with the names of the deads of the Second World War, which were demolished as well for the parking. Over decades on this site the Remembrance Day was celebrated. It is the only memorial commemorating all the 190 names of the deads of WWI. More in detail on the German webpage…