In the fall, the plan to make Stalag 326 in Holte-Stuckenbrock Castle the central German memorial for Soviet prisoners of war in the “Third Reich” appeared to have failed. Now there is a compromise.

Dhe national memorial project Stalag 326 in Holte-Stuckenbrock Castle appears to have been saved. On Monday afternoon, the Gütersloh district council voted 52 to six for the district to contribute up to 210,000 euros annually to the operating costs of the long-planned central memorial to the fate of Soviet prisoners of war in the “Third Reich”. At the end of September, the project, which was supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government, was abruptly brought to an end when the district council, with the votes of the CDU, a free electoral community and the AfD, refused to approve the then planned Gütersloh operating cost share of 400,000 euros. This started a domino effect. In order to be able to submit the specific funding application to the federal government, the Gütersloh share must be released.

“After Monday's decision, I am cautiously optimistic that this is a breakthrough,” said André Kuper (CDU) to the FAZ. The President of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament has campaigned like no other for the former main camp 326 (VI K), or Stalag for short 326, to make it a memorial and educational place. In countless internal rounds, Kuper campaigned for the compromise that had now been found and was in contact with Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens), the state government and the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL). Former Federal President Joachim Gauck also regularly asked him about the status of the proceedings, said Kuper.