Inauguration of the Klara Oppenheimer Route in Würzburg
On 17 May, the 81st anniversary of the death of Klara Oppenheimer, the Klara Oppenheimer Route was inaugurated in the presence of local politicians and representatives of social organisations.
The short, dignified ceremony was prepared by the studentsand teaching staff of the Klara Oppenheim school who also provided the musical accompaniment.
Klara Oppenheimer was born in 1867 and was one of the first four women to matriculate at the University of Würzburg, and in 1918 she was the first female doctor to open a practice in Würzburg. Inspired by her own career, she became committed to ensuring equality for men and women in education and in the professions and in doing so was a pioneer.
The second half of her life was overshadowed by the assumption of power by the National Socialists in 1933. As a Jew, she was subjected to denunciation, disenfranchisement and the expropriation of her property and she was murdered in Theresienstadt in 1943.
The Route begins at the house in Würzburg’s Friedenstrasse where the family lived for many years and continues with six stations through the centre of town to the DenkOrt Deportation monument and attempts to bring the life and work of this impressive woman closer to us.
The idea for this route was developed and realised by the Klara Oppenheimer school together with the Würzburg Stolpersteine initiative and the Johanna Stahl Centre for Jewish history and culture in Lower Franconia.
It was a particular concern to appeal to young people and to provide them with information on the history of the National Socialist era. The route has been developed to be used by anyone who is interested and can be accessed from the QR code in Friedenstrasse 26 or from this link:
