Berlin: Square Named After Jewish Resistance Fighter
The square known as Blücherplatz until this past weekend was renamed Eva-Mamlok-Platz, in commemoration of a young Jewish woman who fought the Nazis.
In Berlin's Kreuzberg borough, the former Blücherplatz has been renamed Eva-Mamlok-Platz in honor of anti-fascist resistance fighter Eva Mamlok. The square, situated in front of the State Library, was inaugurated by officials who unveiled a sign detailing the courageous life of the Jewish woman who began protesting against Nazi Germany's fascist regime at the tender age of 14.
She wrote "Nieder mit Hitler!" ("Down with Hitler!") on a roof of a department store at Hallesches Ufer. Eva Mamlok's story is now etched in the borough, making the Jewish and female resistance visible and securing her a permanent place in the culture of remembrance. District Mayor Clara Herrmann emphasized that the renaming is a mandate for the present, urging everyone to consistently stand against antisemitism.
Eva Mamlok (1918 – 1944) was a Jewish woman from Kreuzberg who fearlessly defied the Nazi dictatorship even as a teenager. After being arrested and deported to the Riga Ghetto in 1941, she was subsequently taken to the Stutthof concentration camp, where she met her untimely death at the age of 26. Years earlier, from 1935 to 35, she was imprisoned at the Moringen concentration camp in Lower Saxony for laying flowers on the graves of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two founders of the communist party (KPD).
In 1939, Mamlok gave birth to her daughter Tana. The Nazis later took advantage of her, using her as a forced laborer. Before the renaming, the square bore the name of Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who fought against Napoleon in the Wars of Liberation. The adjacent street, Blücherstrasse, still carries his name.
Written by urgent.news from The Berlin Spectator's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
