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Mayor Hanno Benz pays tribute to the merits of the former mayor and state parliament president
On the 80th anniversary of the death of former Darmstadt mayor and state parliament president Heinrich Delp on May 14, the city of Darmstadt commemorates a prominent Social Democrat and staunch opponent of National Socialism. Delp died in 1945 as a result of his imprisonment in the Dachau concentration camp.
Mayor Hanno Benz emphasized: “Heinrich Delp made a significant contribution to the common good in Darmstadt and Hesse. As a democrat and social politician, he was a steadfast fighter for freedom, social justice and the rule of law – even under personal threat.”
Heinrich Delp was born on January 31, 1878, in Eberstadt. After training as a bricklayer, he became involved in the SPD (Social Democratic Party) and the German Construction Workers' Union in 1901. From 1909 to 1919, Delp was a member of the Darmstadt City Council. During the November Revolution of 1918/19 and the Weimar Republic, he was a leading figure in local and regional social democracy.
From 1926 to 1933, Delp served as mayor and head of social services for the city of Darmstadt. He was also a long-serving member of the Hessian State Parliament, and from 1928 to 1931, its president. After the National Socialists seized power, he was dismissed from all his offices and persecuted. On August 22, 1944, Delp, along with other Darmstadt Social Democrats, was deported to the Dachau concentration camp, where he was severely mistreated. Shortly after the camp's liberation by American troops, Delp died on May 14, 1945, from the effects of his imprisonment.
Heinrich Delp was laid to rest in the Bessungen Cemetery. Since 1953, Heinrich-Delp-Straße in Darmstadt-Eberstadt has commemorated his work. His grandson, Rolf Böhme, former mayor of Freiburg and member of the Bundestag, visited his grandfather's honorary grave in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of his death.
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/Fre/DK)
Photo: Heinrich Delp. Source: Darmstadt City Archives
