NS Documentation Center Villa Merländer

The villa at Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse 42 was built in 1924/25 for the silk merchant Richard Merländer (born 1874 in Mülheim/Ruhr). The architect was called Friedrich Kühnen.

Richard Merländer was a bachelor and lived with his staff in the peculiarly designed building. Because of his Jewish origin, he was persecuted by the National Socialist state after 1933. He had to give up his shares in the company, and his middle-class existence was destroyed. He was forced to sell his house. Instead, he had to move into a "Judenhaus" in 1941.

The 68-year-old Richard Merländer was deported to the Theresienstadt camp in July 1942. As he was no longer fit for work, he was deported to the Treblinka extermination camp in September 1942. Since none of the 3000 people on this transport survived, the exact circumstances of his death are unknown. He was probably murdered in the gas chamber shortly after arrival.

After Richard Merländer was forced out of social life due to the anti-Jewish laws and forced to sell the house due to its economic ruin, which was pushed by the National Socialists, it was converted into a hotel and changed hands several times. In 1989 it was rented by the city of Krefeld. After the discovery of important murals by the artist Heinrich Campendonk, the council of the city of Krefeld decided to establish a documentation and meeting center in the house, which deals with the period of National Socialism in Krefeld.