Commemorating the Jewish family of FCB player Werner Hecht

The scene: people getting on and off the public buses, heading for the post office, the ice cream parlour, the fast-food joints, the butcher's or the bank, all the while a football bounces across the ‘Am Harras’ square in Munich city centre, chased by a boy in a red FC Bayern kit. It's everyday life, the post office has been there for decades, and the tram used to run here instead of buses. The Hecht family once lived and worked in the house with the address ‘Am Harras 12’. Werner Hecht himself played for FC Bayern as a youth player. During the Nazi dictatorship, they had to flee the country but were caught up in the Netherlands by the terror of the National Socialists and eventually murdered at Auschwitz. Commemorative signs have now been placed on the building.

A warning against hate and misanthropy

“These signs remind people of our place in modern urban society,” said city councillor Marion Lüttig, representing Munich's Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter, during the unveiling in front of an audience of around 50 people, including representatives of the Kurt Landauer Stiftung eV along with the FCB initiative 'Red against Racism'. “These signs emphasise the suffering inflicted on people by National Socialism,” continued Lüttig. “They are a reminder that hatred and discrimination must never again dominate our society.”

Simon Müller from the Kurt Landauer Foundation outlined the life story of the Jewish family at the unveiling ceremony. The merchant Nobert Nathan Hecht married Meta Cäcilie Hecht in 1910. In 1914, the couple moved with their two-year-old daughter Ruth from Bad Nauhaus an der Saale to Munich, where their son Werner Sigismund was born on 29 July 1915. From 1927, they lived in the house with the address ‘Am Harras 12’, where their shop ‘Vertretungen aller Art’ was also located.

A passionate FC Bayern footballer

Werner Sigismund Hecht was a passionate footballer. At the age of 11, he joined the youth division of FC Bayern and played there until 1934, when all Jews were banned from German sports clubs. At 22, he married Ilse Hecht, and shortly afterwards the couple emigrated to Amsterdam, where their son Peter Frank was born. Werner also played football in the Netherlands - before the Nazi terror also crossed the border. Only Ruth Hecht survived the Holocaust, managing to escape to New York.

“We are responsible for ensuring that the past is never repeated,” said Lüttig. “Especially in this day and age, we must actively, loudly and clearly stand up for the protection of our democracy.” Gabriele Schneider from Beth Shalom said on behalf of the Jewish Community of Munich: “FC Bayern was co-founded and shaped by Jews. This symbol is a reminder of the tragic fate of the Hecht family as a whole with Werner having played for FC Bayern. I am glad that this individual form of remembrance exists. People's names must have their place in our world.” They thus remain a part of everyday life on the streets of Munich - which in their day was not that dissimilar to that of today.

More info on the topic of memorials from Munich Cultural Department is available HERE. On Sunday, FCB president Herbert Hainer unveiled a memorial plaque initiated by the Kurt Landauer Foundation at Kurt Landauer's birthplace in Planegg. The occasion was the 140th birthday of the Jewish former FC Bayern president.  

Photos: Tom Hauzenberger/Cultural Department of the City of Munich

To mark the 140th birthday of Kurt Landauer, Herbert Hainer unveiled a memorial plaque at the house where he was born: