Eutin under National Socialism 1932 to 1945 – A tour of the town

Joint project of the Ahrensbök Memorial and the Eutin City Archives.

Realized by

Oskar Mittag
Sebastian Sakautzki
Jakob Sperrle

Why Eutin and why as early as 1932?

Until 1937, Eutin belonged to the Free State of Oldenburg and was the seat of government of the so called Lübeck District. The NSDAP won an absolute majority here as early as 1932. The Nazi regime thus began in Eutin more than six months before Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor. The Canadian historian Lawrence D. Stokes, who has comprehensively documented the history of Eutin during the Nazi era, therefore has referred to Eutin as a “rehearsal stage of the Third Reich”.

The rapid rise to power of the National Socialists can be illustrated very well and vividly here. As Eutin was not destroyed in the war, many of the historic places and buildings have been preserved. This is another reason why the town is particularly interesting for exploring the history of National Socialism from beginning to end. This tour of the town traces the rise of the NSDAP, the elimination of political opponents, the enforced conformity of the administration and the terror of the Nazi state up to the end of the war by looking at 17 key locations.

There is a detailed explanation of the historical background to each station. The individual locations can be visited on an interactive map. A comprehensive final report can also be downloaded. Unfortunately, all texts are currently only available in German.