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Traitors or Heroes? Fritz Bauer and the “Trial of July 20, 1944”

Exhibition from 18 February to 21 March 2025 | Haus der Geschichte and ULB Stadtmitte

2025/02/19

The travelling exhibition of the German Resistance Memorial Centre will be presented in two parts – in the lobby of Haus der Geschichte and on the ground floor of the University and State Library Darmstadt.

Fritz Bauer: “An unjust state like the Third Reich is in no way capable of high treason.”

Otto Ernst Remer, as commander of the 'Großdeutschland' guard battalion, is involved in the counteraction in the Bendlerblock on the evening of 20 July 1944. In 1949, he was one of the co-founders of the right-wing extremist 'Socialist Reich Party'. In spring 1951, Remer also defamed the resistance fighters as 'traitors to the country'. The Braunschweig public prosecutor Fritz Bauer accused him of 'slander' and 'defamation of the memory of the deceased' and initiated a 'Trial for the 20 July'. The resistance fighters are to be liberated from the stigma of treason and the right to resist the NS-regime is finally to be recognized. The Braunschweig Regional Court held four days of hearings in March 1952. Relatives and survivors report about the motives of the resistance fighters. Experts talk about the oath and refute the “stab in the back” propagated by Remer. A highlight of the trial is Fritz Bauer's plea. The trial receives nationwide attention. The Braunschweig Regional Court sentences Otto Ernst Remer to three months' imprisonment and considers the attempted coup on 20 July 1944 to be lawful. The trial against Remer is thus a decisive step towards the recognition of the resistance of 20 July 1944.

The German Resistance Memorial Centre has published a volume to accompany the exhibition.

Exhibition opening

The exhibition is opened by Mayor Hanno Benz at 18 February 2025 at 06.00 p.m. in the Eckart-G.-Franz-Hall in Haus der Geschichte.

Organiser

Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt

Hessisches Landesarchiv, Abt. Staatsarchiv Darmstadt

Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt

Venues

Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt
Haus der Geschichte
S4|02 Vestibule
Karolinenplatz 3
64289 Darmstadt

ULB Darmstadt
S1|20 Ground floor
Magdalenenstraße 8
64289 Darmstadt

Opening hours

Haus der Geschichte
Monday to Friday 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

ULB Stadtmitte
Daily 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 a.m.

Contact

| ULB Darmstadt