Schalke Street

Of Schalke's glory days and dark times

Schalke Street (Schalker Straße) is the shopping street in the neighbourhood and the main artery. Anyone who wants to run errands goes here. Residents can find everything their hearts desire here. Many Jewish citizens also live here and run their businesses with the help of their families. They support FC Schalke 04 wherever they can, but the club turns its back on these loyal supporters when the National Socialists seize power.

The whole neighbourhood is on its feet when FC Schalke 04 brings the 1934 German championship trophy home to Schalke Market. It is the clubs first national title. More and more people join the triumphal procession along the way. Most of the route leads past the splendid shops, restaurants and pubs of Schalker Straße. As the cheering crowd passes house number 184, a pig painted in blue and white suddenly joins the crowd. It belongs to butcher Leo Sauer. Sauer is a passionate supporter of the FC Schalke 04. He has supported the club and the players wherever he can. A few years ago, he paid for Ernst Kuzorra's driving licence and hired him as a driver. Leo Sauer is crazy about Schalke. Even though he was expelled from the club just a year ago: Leo Sauer is jewish.

The country lane that Friedrich Grillo had built between the village of Gelsenkirchen and Schalke Market quickly developed into a busy main road. The tram ran through Schalke Street from 1895. By this time, Schalke Street had already developed into the main shopping street in the area. Residents could browse the splendid shops for all kinds of goods. The Schalke grammar school was also located here. Several Jewish owners ran their businesses in the street and lived here with their families. Most of them supported the FC Schalke 04 financially. After the National Socialists took power in Germany in 1933, the Jewish citizens were dispossessed and persecuted. Leo Sauer was murdered by the Nazis in 1945. His story shows that FC Schalke 04 failed to recognise the signs of the times. Today, the club faces up to its past and commemorates Leo Sauer with a memorial plaque at the Arena.

During the Second World War, most of the magnificent Wilhelminian-style buildings were destroyed in a hail of bombs. The Schalker Gymnasium was completely destroyed. After its reconstruction, the street once again became the main road of the district: trams and cars passed through Schalke Street on their way to Schalke Market and the Consolidation Colliery 1/6. However, when the construction of the Berlin Bridge fundamentally changed the traffic routing, Schalke Street lost its significance. Today, the once lively and vibrant street is characterised by vacancies, similar to the Schalke Mile. Only a few facades still bear witness to the former prosperity.

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