Since 1959, district administrators and the Bundeswehr have also commemorated 369 SS men in a military cemetery, including many members of the Totenkopf and Waffen SS. That should now change, partly due to SZ research.
It is a 180-degree turnaround in the culture of remembrance that the Passau district office is now planning. For decades, the central commemoration event of the district of Passau has been held at the military cemetery in Hofkirchen on the nationwide day of remembrance. As the SZ reported last November, district administrators, Bundeswehr representatives and clergymen have been commemorating the victims of World War II there for decades – and have so far not mentioned in their speeches that at least 369 SS members are buried in this very cemetery.