A few days ago, following the intervention of an AfD representative and the petition of a CDU representative, the local assembly in Dortmund-Scharnhorst decided to postpone the planned naming of a street after Kurt Goldstein who was born in 1914 in Scharnhorst, was a resistance fighter against fascism and the Nazi regime, and honorary president of the International Auschwitz Committee. The reason behind the decision was to carry out an investigation into Goldstein’s political and personal life, and especially his life in the GDR.

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

“Being denounced by a representative of the AfD is an honour for every democrat. Kurt Goldstein would have been horrified to think his name was attached to a street sign in his birthplace with the help of votes from the AfD. He never forgot his home town and often told about its history in numerous accounts as a witness of the times. Kurt Goldstein was highly respected by Auschwitz survivors in many countries, because he was always convinced that, irrespective of differing political attitudes, it was the task of all democrats to stand together against far-right extremism and to never again allow neo-Nazis to take over the streets and the minds of people. He worked towards these goals almost until the end of his life. It would be a benefit to democracy, if the entire district authority in Dortmund-Scharnhorst managed to understand this.”