“By renaming this street Hans-Joachim-Jentsch-Straße, we are sending a message about a city that consciously honors people who stand for democracy and the rule of law. Hans-Joachim Jentsch was an outstanding jurist, mayor of Wiesbaden, and honorary citizen whose legacy continues to serve as a model for us today,” says Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende.

Hans-Joachim Jentsch, who held a doctorate in law and was a CDU politician, (1937–2021) served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1976 to 1982, as mayor of Wiesbaden from 1982 to 1985, and as a member of the Hessian State Parliament from 1987 to 1990. After German reunification, he served as Minister of Justice for the Free State of Thuringia from 1990 to 1994. From 1996 to 2005, he was a justice on the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Jentsch was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and was an honorary citizen of the state capital, Wiesbaden.

In addition, the following six streets in the Wiesbaden city area are currently being renamed:

• Christian-Bücher-Straße to Hafenstraße (Schierstein)
• Gerhardt-Katsch-Straße to Anna-von-Doemming-Straße (Bierstadt)
• Heinrich-Pette-Straße to Hans-Joachim-Jentsch-Straße (Bierstadt)
• Jonas-Schmidt-Straße to Am Hof Geisberg (Northeast)
• Elmendorffstraße to Elisabeth-Schwarzhaupt-Straße (Southeast)
• Viktoria-Luise-Straße to Eva-Hesse-Straße (Southeast)

Two streets will retain their names but will be reassigned to a new namesake:

• Kronprinzenstraße (Central): The name is no longer associated with Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia but refers generally to the office of crown prince.
• Overbeckstraße (Southeast): The name will henceforth refer to the painter Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789–1869) rather than to Friedrich Theodor Overbeck (1897–1972), who headed Nazi propaganda in Wiesbaden.

Now that the renaming and reclassification process has been successfully completed, the new street names are now official. The new signs will be installed on Monday, August 31, and Tuesday, September 1.

Residents of the affected streets have been notified in writing. The Citizens’ Office has mailed address labels for ID cards and vehicle registration certificates; the city will cover the costs.

In December 2020, the City Council of Wiesbaden, the state capital, decided to establish a Historical Expert Commission to examine the biographies of the people after whom Wiesbaden’s streets, buildings, and institutions are named for any involvement in Nazi injustices. Between 2021 and 2023, the commission—composed of representatives from academia, local politics, and city administration—examined 71 biographies and recommended renaming or re-designating 18 of them. The recommendations were submitted to the local advisory councils for discussion, and the councils acted on them in twelve cases. In all other cases, they decided to provide contextual information.

The Wiesbaden City Archives—which, as the responsible administrative department, was tasked with overseeing the Historical Expert Commission—has documented the results of the commission’s work and the political process in the digital Wiesbaden City Encyclopedia. In cooperation with the Civil Engineering and Surveying Office, it also developed an interactive application that visualizes the results on a city map.

Further information is available at www.wiesbaden.de/kultur/stadtgeschichte/strassennamen (opens in a new tab).