Memorial walk of SV 98

The Lilies‘ memorial walk began on Wednesday at 5pm at Schlossgartenplatz in Darmstadt – the historic founding site of SV 98. The approximately 20 participants were welcomed by Peter Schmidt (SV Darmstadt 98 Council of Elders) and Dr. Marc Balbaschewski (Club History Department). Both then led the group knowledgeably and impressively through the various stops to Dr. Karl Hess Square at the Merck Stadium.

The route ran along Wilhelminenstraße, Ernst-Ludwig-Straße, and Holzstraße, past the Jugendstilbad (Art Nouveau swimming pool), along Annastraße and Hochstraße to Dr. Karl Hess Square. Along the way, the group stopped at several stumbling blocks commemorating members of SV 98 who were humiliated, persecuted, or murdered during the Nazi era. Some participants brought cloths and polishing agents and cleaned the stones of dirt that had accumulated over the years.

The memorial walk thus combined a visible form of remembrance culture: During the nearly two-hour walk, participants learned a great deal about Jewish club members of SV 98, who had long been ignored in the club’s chronicles.

„We recently experienced some racist outbursts again in the DFB Cup,“ explained Balbaschweski, highlighting the importance of such commemorative events. „Back then, sports clubs were one of the first organisations to push Jews out of society and out of clubs – and SV Darmstadt 98 was once a very early player in this. That’s why it’s important that we continue to work through our history and continually remember it,“ the club’s historical archivist continued.

On Wilhelminenstraße, participants learned about the life of Hugo Berger – once a track and field athlete and club doctor for SV 98. „Hugo Berger, who was married to the sister of my best friend Horst Greser, emigrated to Israel in 1932 and later died in Nieder-Beerbach after returning to Germany in the 1960s following his retirement,“ reported contemporary witness Schmidt. On Ernst-Ludwig-Straße, the tragic fates of Berger’s mother and sister, who were deported and presumably murdered in 1942, were also addressed.

Holzstraße 8 was also in focus: The Jewish Wieseneck family, who ran a butcher shop, lived there. Herbert, Moritz, and Frenzel Wieseneck were also members of SV 98, but had to leave the club in September 1933 because they were Jewish. The two brothers, along with Frenzel, who married into the same family, emigrated to the USA, while their parents did not survive the Holocaust.

Am Jugendstilbad, auf der Hochstraße und weiteren Stationen erfuhren die Teilnehmenden zahlreiche weitere Geschichten von NS-Opfern mit Bezug zum SV Darmstadt 98. Am Zielpunkt, dem Dr.-Karl-Heß-Platz vor dem Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, stand schließlich das Leben von Dr. Karl Heß im Mittelpunkt. Der engagierte Funktionär wurde bereits mit 24 Jahren Vizepräsident und mit 28 Jahren sogar Vorsitzender des SV 98. „Im Sommer 1933 emigrierte er mit seiner Frau zunächst nach Frankreich, später nach Brasilien. In den 1960er Jahren kehrte er nach Darmstadt zurück, wurde jedoch nach eigenen Angaben nie wieder richtig heimisch. 1973 ging er zurück nach Brasilien, wo er kurz darauf verstarb“, erläuterte Balbaschewski. An diesem besonderen Ort, der heute an Karl Heß erinnert, endete der rund zweistündige Gedenkspaziergang in persönlicher und bewegender Atmosphäre.