Antique map - Düsseldorf 1940

Map of Düsseldorf in 1940, under the Third Reich: its port, the Hofgarten, and the place names of an era that was erased after 1945.

This map shows Düsseldorf in 1940, under the Third Reich. At that time, the city was in the Prussian province of the Rhineland and served as the seat of a Gauleitung, the regional headquarters of the Nazi party. Today, it is the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen). Its name is the same in French and German.

The map is a document of an era: it still shows the Gauleitung and the Kreisleitung, the regional and local headquarters of the party, as well as place names associated with the regime, such as "Schlageterstadt". These names disappeared after 1945. The map also preserves traces of what has defined the city for much longer: its port, its Hofgarten, and its neighborhoods on both banks of the Rhine.

Places and neighborhoods shown:

• Golzheim and the Schlageter-Denkmal - north of the city, in Golzheim, the map shows the "Schlageter Ehrenmal" and a neighborhood named "Schlageterstadt". Albert Leo Schlageter, a former member of a Free Corps, was shot by French occupation troops on May 26, 1923, on the Golzheimer Heide, after being sentenced to death by a French military court for espionage and sabotage during the occupation of the Ruhr. The Nazi regime subsequently made him a hero. In 1931, a 30-meter-tall steel cross monument, designed by Austrian architect Clemens Holzmeister, was inaugurated at the site of the execution. It was destroyed with explosives after 1945.
• The Nordpark and the Rheinpark - in 1937, the "Reichsausstellung Schaffendes Volk", a major national exhibition organized by the regime, developed this area north of the city, making the Schlageter monument the starting point of a monumental axis leading to the Rhine. The map shows the Nordpark, the Nordfriedhof, and the Rheinpark along the river.
• The bridge over the Rhine - the Oberkassel Bridge, which opened in 1898, is named "Skagerrakbrücke" on the map, after the major naval battle of 1916 that the Germans call the Battle of Skagerrak (Jutland).
• The Hofgarten and the old town - Germany's oldest public park, developed from 1769 by Nicolas de Pigage, occupies the center of the map. It borders the old town, where Heinrich Heine was born in 1797, on the banks of the Rhine. The map also shows the Opernhaus, the Schauspielhaus, the Planetarium, and the city's exhibition palace (Städtischer Ausstellungspalast).
• The port - the "Städtischer Hafen" is shown in detail with its basins A, B, and C, the Handelshafen, and the Zollhafen, south of the old town.
• The neighborhoods - on the right bank, the map shows Golzheim, Derendorf, Mörsenbroich, Grafenberg, Lierenfeld, Wersten, Klein-Eller, and Stoffeln, south of Hamm, Flehe, and Volmerswerth, and on the left bank, Oberkassel and Niederkassel. It also shows the Zoo, the Volksgarten, and the North, South, and Stoffeln cemeteries.

Map reference: the tramway lines are drawn in red and numbered, and a red grid of letters (from A to H) and numbers (from 1 to 8) makes it possible to locate each place. Built-up areas are shown in brown, parks and gardens in green, and the Rhine in blue-green, with arrows indicating the direction of the current.

In short: for anyone with ties to Düsseldorf or interested in the city's history under the Third Reich and the memory of the occupation of the Ruhr, this map documents the city in 1940 with the names of an era that the city subsequently erased.

What area does this map of Düsseldorf cover? It covers Düsseldorf and its surroundings on both sides of the Rhine: the old town, the Hofgarten, the port, the central station, the northern and southern neighborhoods, as well as Oberkassel and Niederkassel on the left bank.

In what year was this map published? This map dates from 1940.

Reproduction of the city map of Düsseldorf, dated 1940.

Printed on 200 g/m² textured art paper. Portrait orientation, 50x70 and 70x100 cm formats: easy to frame.