There is a local memory campaign of sorts going on here in Tübingen. The Französisches Viertel, a relatively new residential neighborhood built in the former French occupation barracks, has generally used the old street names for the addresses. But there is a large square that still has no name. Members of the community have been invited to submit ideas for names. Now the list is out and being voted on.

One of the proposed names is Deserteursplatz ("Deserters' Square" in English). The name would be in memory of those who were shot for desertion in the nearby forest. The local shootings are not documented, but recounted by eye-witnesses from 1945. Whether they occured here locally or not, tens of thousands of German men were in fact executed for desertion during the Second World War with most of the killings carried out during the final months of the war by roaming groups of SS men who

I had a glance at the list of proposed names. The other names are happy, innocuous names like Kinderplatz. The community will decide whether or not it wants a reminder of the war, politics and ideology in its new, clean, "alternative" living space. It will have to decide whether it will risk a clear statement of solidarity with men who chose flight over fighting for Nazi Germany. Instead of choosing the name of a generally-recognized hero like Dietrich Bonhoffer, a man much admired especially in Tübingen, the issue here is desertion - something that still closely connotes treason and abandonment of community.

The issue is remeniscent of the memorial to deserters in Ulm which is also located near a similar forest execution location. The same issues of collective identity, community and loyalty come into play.