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The Dejudaization Institute Memorial

The Dejudaization Institute Memorial is a commemorative installation in Eisenach, Thuringia. It was erected on behalf of eight Protestant regional churches and recalls their responsibility for the antisemitic institute they founded to research and eliminate Jewish influence on German church life. The institute was active during the National Socialist period from 1939 to 1945. The memorial is regarded as a confession of guilt by the Protestant churches and as a reminder of the victims of church anti-Judaism and antisemitism. It was unveiled on 6 May 2019, exactly 80 years after the founding of the Dejudaization Institute.

Rusty metal plaque of the Dejudaization Institute Memorial with the cut-out German text \
The Dejudaization Institute Memorial in Eisenach, shown as a rusty metal plaque with cut-out lettering beside a curved retaining wall.
August 2022 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dejudaization Institute Memorial metal panel with German text stands beside a stone wall.
The Dejudaization Institute Memorial is shown as a rusted metal panel with German lettering beside a stone wall.
August 2025 © · CC BY 4.0
Dejudaization Institute memorial sign beside a curved stone wall and sidewalk in Eisenach.
The Dejudaization Institute memorial stands beside a curved stone wall and street in Eisenach.
September 2019 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dejudaization Institute Memorial plaque with the German text \
The Dejudaization Institute Memorial plaque is shown during its unveiling, with a man speaking beside it and a blue cloth on the ground.
May 2019 © Alexandra Husemeyer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rusted Dejudaization Institute memorial with German text and abstract cut-outs, surrounded by several people during an outdoor unveiling.
The Dejudaization Institute memorial during its unveiling, with several participants gathered around the rusted metal monument.
May 2019 © Alexandra Husemeyer · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleThe "Dejudaization Institute" Memorial
Original-language nameМеморіал «Інститут деюдаїзації»
TypeMemorial installation

Location and ownership

LocationAt the beginning of Bornstraße, on the corner of Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Straße and Am Ofenstein, Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany
Former related siteBornstraße 11, the former offices of the institute in the former seminary of the Church of Thuringia
Distance from former officesApproximately 240 meters
Site suitabilityChosen because it was more visible and easier to reach from the city center than the former office building, and because its structural conditions were more favorable for installing a memorial

Historical context

Historical contextFounded in Eisenach in Nazi Germany and aligned with Nazi ideology
Associated institution activity period1939–1945
Historical subject commemoratedThe "Dejudaization Institute" (German: "Entjudungsinstitut"), officially the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Church Life

Creator

DesignerMarc Pethran
Design agencyKOCMOC.NET, Leipzig
ManufacturerObornik Werbetechnik KG, Hildesheim

Discovery and provenance

Formal appeal to bishop date16 April 2018
Unveiling participantsSix representatives of Protestant regional churches
Unveiling date6 May 2019
Recommended memorial levelRegional church level
Site inspection participantsRepresentatives of the Stiftung Lutherhaus Eisenach, the Eisenach city administration, and the Eisenach-Gerstungen church district
Site inspection date18 June 2018
Municipal supportThe Eisenach city administration supported the project with advice on construction and permitting
Key proposal date27 March 2018
Planning historyEfforts to establish a memorial in Eisenach had existed since the early 1990s, but earlier attempts did not progress beyond the planning stage
Conceptual inputComposition suggestions from the Stiftung Lutherhaus Eisenach in cooperation with the EKM and its Advisory Council for Christian-Jewish Dialogue
Institutional cooperationDeveloped in cooperation between the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) and the Stiftung Lutherhaus Eisenach
Project leadershipJochen Birkenmeier
Commissioned byEight Protestant regional churches, as the legal successors of the churches involved in the institute's founding

Physical characteristics

DimensionsApproximately 200 × 148 × 42 cm

Materials

MaterialCor-Ten steel plates

Technique

Construction featureThe steel plates have individual cut-out segments

Appearance

Design text incorporated"We have gone astray" from the Darmstadt Statement

Iconography and meaning

PurposePublicly commemorate the work and consequences of the "Dejudaization Institute" and serve as a warning memorial
InterpretationUnderstood as a confession of guilt by the Protestant churches and a memorial to the victims of ecclesiastical anti-Judaism and antisemitism
Meaning of cut-out segmentsA reference to the "dejudaization" of the New Testament and Protestant hymn texts, and to the destruction of the shared Jewish-Christian foundations of faith by the "Dejudaization Institute"
Stated aims of the commemorated instituteTo erase the Jewish roots of Christianity, remove positive references to the people of Israel and Judaism from Holy Scripture, and align Protestant teaching and liturgical practice with Nazi ideology
Associated exhibition"Erforschung und Beseitigung. Das kirchliche ‚Entjudungsinstitut‘ 1939–1945"