Erlangen (dpa / lby) - The Erlangen university lecture hall, originally named after the fashion house chain founder Rudolf Wöhrl, has returned to its old name after criticism. "For the time being, the lecture hall will be called the lecture hall at Östliche Stadtmauerstraße 11, as it used to be," said a spokeswoman for the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg on Saturday. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had previously reported on it.
According to the university spokeswoman, the lettering on the outside facade was removed on Wednesday morning after unknown persons "pasted over it and defaced it". It was to be removed from the lecture hall this weekend because scaffolding would have to be erected and the lecture hall would be occupied throughout the week.
The naming of the lecture hall after Wöhrl had caused criticism in the Middle Franconian city. According to a confidential report by the Nuremberg City Archives, Wöhrl was a member of the NSDAP and SS, as recently became known. The Left Party in Erlangen, among others, had called for the lecture hall to be renamed. "We propose a person who resisted the Nazi euthanasia program," the party said.
In 2009, entrepreneur Rudolf Wöhrl donated EUR 250,000 to the university hospital for research projects. As a thank you, the medical faculty renamed the large lecture hall in the city center "Rudolf-Wöhrl-Hörsaal", the university had explained. Rudolf Wöhrl's son, Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, said at the beginning of the week: "Nobody from our family was alive at the time, so we only know everything from hearsay and from the more than sparse documents from the state archives."
The university said on Saturday: "A naming was agreed with the donor's family for a period of ten years. This period has long since expired - after the lecture hall was named after Rudolf Wöhrl in 2009." Since no new donor or sponsor had expressed an interest, the name was retained for the time being. The fact that the lecture hall could be renamed at any time after the agreement had expired was therefore agreed with both the family and the founder himself. "A renaming will take place shortly."
