Erinnerungsort Topf & Söhne

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The company J. A. Topf & Söhne was founded in 1878 as a firing-technology business and in 1889 moved to a factory site between Sorbenweg and Rudolstädter Straße in eastern Erfurt. From World War I onward, it built cremation ovens for municipal crematoriums in addition to industrial furnaces.

From 1939, the owners Ludwig and Ernst Wolfgang Topf supplied the SS with incineration ovens for concentration camps. In 1942/43, the company’s engineers designed and delivered the crematoriums, along with the ventilation systems for the gas chambers, at Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war ended, Ludwig Topf took his own life; several senior employees were sentenced by Soviet courts to long terms in labor camps. In East Germany the business was nationalized, and after 1990 it was privatized.

From 1999, a support group campaigned for a memorial site on the grounds; the empty administration building was occupied by squatters from 2001 to 2009. After it was cleared and renovated, the City of Erfurt opened the Erinnerungsort (place of remembrance) here on January 27, 2011, as a municipal history museum.

Using letters, technical drawings, and invoices, the main exhibition in the former drafting room documents how routinely a civilian company contributed to the technology of mass murder. It is complemented by an exhibition on the Nazi “euthanasia” crimes, an outdoor exhibition on the former company grounds, and a virtual reconstruction of Erfurt’s Great Synagogue, destroyed in 1938.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition “Techniker der ‘Endlösung’” (Technicians of the “Final Solution”) on the company’s collaboration with the SS
• Original documents such as technical drawings, invoices, and correspondence with camp administrations
• Exhibition “Wohin bringt ihr uns?” (Where are you taking us?) on the Nazi “euthanasia” murders, with an inclusive audio track
• VR exploration of Erfurt’s Great Synagogue, destroyed in 1938
• Free admission and free public guided tours

Permanent exhibitions

• Techniker der „Endlösung“. Topf & Söhne – Die Ofenbauer von Auschwitz – Main exhibition in the former administration building: documents show how the company planned and supplied ovens and ventilation systems for the camps and how its employees were involved.
• Wohin bringt ihr uns? – Small permanent exhibition on the murder of people with disabilities and mental illnesses, with an audio track created by people with and without disabilities.
• Große Synagoge Erfurt virtuell rekonstruiert – With a VR headset, visitors can virtually walk through Erfurt’s Great Synagogue, destroyed in 1938 (ages 13 and up).

Founded

2011

Operated by

Landeshauptstadt Erfurt (Geschichtsmuseen Erfurt)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Certified under “Reisen für Alle” (Travel for All). Step-free access via the rear entrance with a ramp, elevator to all floors, accessible restroom on the first floor, accessible parking spaces behind the building. Guided tours in plain language (“Geschichte inklusiv”) on request.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

Educational programs are aimed at teenagers from grade 9 and adults; the VR application on the Great Synagogue is for ages 13 and up.

Getting there & parking

About a 15-minute walk from the main train station.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit