Heimkehrer-Dankes-Kirche Hl. Familie

Karl-Friedrich-Str. 109, Bochum

The Heimkehrer-Dankeskirche Heilige Familie ("Returnees' Thanksgiving Church of the Holy Family") in Bochum's Weitmar district was built on the initiative of vicar August Halbe, himself a former prisoner of war held for five years in the Urals, and was consecrated on 12 December 1959 by Bishop Franz Hengsbach. Conceived as a memorial to peace and reconciliation between peoples, it has been a protected monument since 2005; its crypt houses a museum displaying objects from the POW camps, including a reproduction of the "Stalingrad Madonna", commemorating the fate of returning prisoners of war.