‘He Was a True Hero’: Street Mural Honoring German ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ Werner Krumme Officially Inaugurated in Dortmund

A street mural honoring late “Righteous Among the Nations” hero Werner Krumme was officially inaugurated on Wednesday on the exterior wall of a youth center in Dortmund, Germany.

The mural — a joint initiative of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and Artists 4 Israel — was painted by artist Julian Schimanski, known as “Mister Oreo 39.”

Lord Mayor of Dortmund Thomas Westphal — who chaired the CAM-organized 2023 European Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in Dortmund last November — delivered opening remarks at Wednesday’s ceremony.

CAM was represented by Director of European Affairs Oriana Marie Krüger.

“The mural and the story of Werner Krumme is a reminder of what happens when antisemitism increases in society,” Krüger said. “As Germans, we all carry the difficult past with which we have to deal with. And, of course, while we are not responsible for the crimes of our grandparents and great-grandparents, I personally believe that we have a responsibility to learn from history and stand up against antisemitism, racism, and other forms of discrimination whenever and wherever we encounter them.”

The mural is located at Städt. Jugendfreizeitstätte Mengede — Rigwinstraße 29, 44359 Dortmund, Germany.

Similar “Righteous Among the Nations” murals have gone up in recent years in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal; Patras, Greece; New York City; and Los Angeles, California.

Krumme, born in Dortmund in 1909, married a Jewish woman, Ruth Haas, shortly after the Nazis came to power in 1933, and they were both arrested in Breslau in 1942 and sent to Auschwitz after it was discovered that they were planning to help Ruth’s sisters flee Germany.

While at Auschwitz, Krumme was designated as a “prisoner-functionary,” and he manipulated selection lists to secure the placement of numerous Jewish prisoners in the infirmary or work detachments to protect them from execution in the gas chambers.

While his wife did perish at Auschwitz, Krumme survived the war, and he lived in Munich — where he was active in fighting neo-Nazism and far-right extremism — until he passed away in 1972.

“He was a true hero who didn’t do what everyone else did, but did what was right,” Krüger said. “His story should be an inspiration to us.”