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IRISH BORN MERCHANT SEAMEN |
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PRISONERS OF THE GESTAPO 1943-45 |
The petition
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During the second world about 35000 prisoners including 32 Irish born merchant seamen were forced to work as slave labourers by the Gestapo on the U-Boat Bunker 'Valentin' building and fuel depot sites at Farge just outside Bremen. Amongst the thousands who lost their lives as a result of Nazi brutality were five Irish born merchant seamen. They are:
†. W.H. Knox, [AB, British Commander] Dun Laoghaire;
†. Owen Corr, [AB, Silverfir] of Rush, Co. Dublin;
†. Gerald O'Hara, [1st Radio Officer, Devon] Ballina, Co. Mayo;
†. Patrick Breen, [AB, Athelfoam] Blackwater, Co. Wexford,
†. Thomas Murphy, [AB, Earlston] of Dublin.
In April 1945, as a result of representations by the Irish Legation in Berlin, 27 Irish born merchant seamen, the last Irish survivors from the Farge slave labour camp, were returned to Milag Nord the merchant navy internment camp in Westertimke. The conditions in the Arbeitserziehungslager Bremen-Farge were later the subject of an investigation by the British Ministry of Pensions and the War Crimes Unit. In 1947 twelve German guards and one Swiss guard were charged in Hamburg with offences against humanity and international law.
In April 2005, following our Heroes Return Irish Journey of Remembrance back to Bremen-Farge to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of world war two, the Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46) decided to support the Association Dokumentations-und Gedenkstaette Geschichtslehrpfad Lagerstrasse/U-Boot Bunker 'Valentin' e.V. in their efforts to promote the preservation of the Bunker 'Valentin' Building as a permanent memorial place dedicated to peace and reconciliation, in memory of all those slave labourers who lost their lives in Bremen-Farge as a result of Nazi terror. We believe this is the most appropriate way of remembering all who died and more importantly provides a legacy for future generations to learn about man's inhumanity to man thereby promoting peace and reconcilation through remembrance and education.
The German Governnment must be persuaded to support the Association Dokumentations-und Gedenkstaette Geschichtslehrpfad Lagerstrasse/U-Boot-Bunker 'Valentin' e.V. in their efforts to preserve the Bunker 'Valentin' Building as a permanent dedicated memorial place for peace and reconciliation. Consequently, we appeal for your support for our petition. It would be appreciated if you could either record your comments here for eventual forwarding on to the relevant German authorities and/or E-Mail the Federal German Government Press Office and make your views known. Thank you for your support:
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Press and Information Office of the Federal German Government: |
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| Address for Visitors: | Mailing Address: | E-Mail: |
| Dorotheenstrasse 84 | 11044 Berlin | InternetPost@bundesregierung.de |
| 10117 Berlin | Germany. | |
| Telefon: 01888 272-0 | ||
| Fax: 01888 272-1365 | ||
| Is Mise Le Meas (Yours Sincerely) | ||
| Peter Mulvany | ||
| Chairperson | ||
| Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46) | ||
| http://www.irishseamensrelativ... | ||
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