#lostwords – Letters that never arrived

A dossier about the victims of Nazi Death sentences in the name of the Nazi judiciary in Munich-Stadelheim – and their last words

The dossier explores the issues raised by the #lostwords project, its historical background, and its lasting impact to this day. Created in cooperation between the Arolsen Archives and the State Archives of Bavaria, #lostwords seeks to trace the relatives of those who were executed in Munich-Stadelheim Prison during the Nazi era. Many of them wrote farewell letters shortly before their deaths – letters that never reached their families.

Keyfacts

1188Execution victims in Munich-Stadelheim

844Number of execution files

50Remaining farewell letters

1Families found

Words of farewell

In six powerful short films, members of the Münchner Kammerspiele ensemble read from the farewell letters written by those sentenced to death. The films make the timelessness of these documents palpable.

Watch the videos

Who were the victims?

Stadelheim Prison in Munich was a “central execution site” under the National Socialists. Up until 1945, more than 1,000 condemned prisoners were beheaded there, including 75 women. Most of the prisoners were from Germany, while others came from Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, and other European countries. The youngest victim of execution was 19, the oldest was 81. You can find out more about the victims here.

About the victims
Gebäude vor dem Zwangsarbeiterinnen in einer Reihe stehen. Daneben ein Aufseher

Death sentences in the name of the Nazi judiciary

Between 1933 and 1945, the judiciary served the Nazi regime and was thus part of its system of injustice. When the Second World War started, Nazi judges imposed harsher punishments on alleged “public enemies.” Death sentences could be handed down even for petty offenses. Alexander Korb talked with us about the death sentences passed in the name of the Nazi judiciary.

Interview with Dr. Alexander Korb
Schwarz-weiß Foto des Gefängnisses Stadelheim. Davor eine Gruppe Zwangsarbeiterinnen sowie Männer in Uniform.

From the Guillotine to the Dissection Table

Not only did the Nazi judicial system withhold the farewell letters of a large number of prisoners, it also denied many families the opportunity to bury their loved ones. The bodies of execution victims were handed over to the institutes of anatomy at the universities of Munich, Innsbruck, Würzburg, or Erlangen, where they were used for teaching purposes.Medical student Tim Simon Goldmann has discovered the remains of several execution victims in the anatomical collection in Erlangen. He is now working with the Arolsen Archives to locate surviving relatives.

Interview with Tim Goldmann
Tim Goldmann bei der Sichtung von historischen mikroskopischen Präparaten.