1909: Seven drowned men - A whole city wept
It was the afternoon of August 19, 1909, and the news spread like wildfire through the city, described by the Offenbacher Zeitung the next day as follows: "A catastrophe, the like of which has not been seen in Offenbach for many years, equally terrible in its course, equally shattering in its effect, occurred yesterday afternoon in the immediate vicinity of the city, near the lock, and brought grief and sadness to many families.
Six hopeful people met an abrupt end there in the waters of the Main, and with them a brave worker, who tried to snatch his prey from death at the risk of his own life, was dragged down into the "watery grave".
Hundreds of people crowded in front of the newspaper building on Aliceplatz to get an extra sheet with the details. It reported on six drowned girls from class 4a of the Mathildenschule and the construction worker Wilhelm Göbig from the Aschaffenburg area, who died while trying to rescue them.
It was a sunny, warm day when teacher Marie Stein took her pupils across the Main bridge to the Frankfurt bank and then downstream. They were allowed to take a break at the lock. And there they saw boys from Bornheim splashing around in the foot-high water of the raft channel right on the bank. The teacher allowed the girls to do the same as the boys.
It would have remained a fun-filled day had some of the boys not been in the mood for mischief. They climbed the sluice tower and released the freely accessible lever of the drum weir flap. Suddenly, a roaring flood crashed down on the playing children. The noise of the falling water drowned out the panicked cries of the children, only some of whom were able to escape to the stairs.
Ten workers from the Holzmann construction company who happened to be nearby rushed to help. One of them, Wilhelm Göbig, managed to grab and hold two girls at once. The crew of a sailing boat tried to help him. But the whirlpools hurled the boat right at the rescuer with the two children in his arms. All three sank.
The ferryman Heinrich Schrecker was able to save two of the children. Another child, already unconscious, was brought to the Gerbermühle on the far bank by rowers. The Gerbermühle innkeeper managed to revive the child. However, none of the Bornheim boys were seen again.
The children of ordinary people had drowned. The newspaper names a day laborer, an ironworker, a shoemaker and a portefeuiller as the fathers. The newspaper appealed to its readers to help the mostly destitute families financially with an appeal for donations, and this was not without success. It seemed as if the whole city was crying.
Thousands of Offenbach residents are said to have rushed to the funeral service at the old cemetery on August 23. Two clergymen were there to offer consolation. Lord Mayor Dr. Dullo and head teacher Göckel gave speeches and laid wreaths. And to this day, a memorial stone in the old cemetery commemorates the dead children of the Mathildenschule and the construction worker Wilhelm Göbig.
In August 1909, however, the town soon had another issue to deal with. On August 28, the citizens who were required to "quarter" 550 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 168. The maneuver guests stayed for five days.
By Lothar Braun - published in the Offenbach Post (opens in a new tab)