Günther Schwarberg
Why is there a Günther-Schwarberg-Weg in the Schnelsen-Burgwedel district of Hamburg? Who was Günther Schwarberg and why was he honored with a path name?
Günther Schwarberg was a journalist and his most important work was probably the story of the "Children of Bullenhuser Damm", which first appeared as a series of articles in Stern magazine and was later published as a book.
Together with his wife Barbara Hüsing, a lawyer, he found relatives of the murdered children. Together with them, they founded our association in 1979 and succeeded in having the murder site, the school on Bullenhuser Damm, declared a memorial and a rose garden planted in memory of those murdered. Günther was chairman of our association for many years.
Born on October 14, 1926, Günther grew up in Bremen-Vegesack. He experienced his childhood and youth as "unhappy". His life was determined by the terrible experiences of National Socialism and the war. The 18-year-old also personally experienced May 8, 1945 as the day of liberation.
From fall 1945, he worked as a journalist, initially in Bremen at the "Weser-Kurier" and the "Bremer Nachrichten", later at a press service, "Bild am Sonntag", "Constanze" and finally - for well over 20 years - at the magazine "Stern". at a press service, at "Bild am Sonntag", at "Constanze" and finally - for well over 20 years - at the magazine "Stern".
In 1977, Günther learned by chance about the murder of children at Bullenhuser Damm and realized that former concentration camp prisoners from the "Amicale Internationale de Neuengamme" had been trying to commemorate the site for years.
"But every year they became fewer and fewer." And he asks himself: "Why are you actually a journalist if you don't write this story down before it's completely forgotten? Are there still parents somewhere who are looking for their children? How do you find the trace of twenty children among six million dead?"
He researches, makes contacts and connects the story with his life to such an extent that twenty years later he states: "I have twenty children. ... In my youth, I knew nothing about them. Back then, they could have been my younger siblings. Now, over many years, they have become my children."
He and Barbara Hüsing have given numerous lectures on the fate of the children. They designed a large touring exhibition on this topic and in 1986 organized an international tribunal that used the example of the murder of children to establish the failure of the Federal German justice system to come to terms with National Socialist crimes.
Günther Schwarberg and Barbara Hüsing were awarded the Anne Frank Medal for their work in 1987. Günther Schwarberg's last book "Das vergess ich nie" was published in 2007 and contains his memoirs as a journalist. He worked as an author and freelance journalist until his death on December 3, 2008.
In the Schnelsen-Burgwedel district, numerous streets, the market square, the central park area, a daycare center, the playhouse and the youth club are named after the children from Bullenhuser Damm. The Günther-Schwarberg-Weg honors the late journalist not only for his commitment: Günther is thus also in the midst of "his" twenty children by name.
