The framed wooden plaque, inscribed with gold paint, commemorates the musketeer Heinrich Friedrich Reupke from the village of Barum, today one of the 31 districts of Salzgitter.

He served in the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 71 in the Ducal Brunswick Infantry Regiment No. 92, as Barum was still part of the Duchy of Brunswick at the time. Like so many other soldiers, Heinrich Reupke never saw his homeland again. During the Battle of Orléans (battle of Neuville-aux-Bois) on December 3, 1870, he was shot in the lower leg. He died from this wound on December 18, 1870 in the Puiseaux military hospital. Heinrich Reupke, born on March 18, 1846, was only 24 years old.

"The war memorial plaque dedicated by the parish of Barum probably used to hang in the church there," explains the museum director. The war memorial coin awarded posthumously to Heinrich Reupke for 1870/71 is attached to the front bottom right of the plaque. This rare testimony to the military culture of remembrance and the wars of the 19th century is now part of the permanent exhibition at the Salder Castle Municipal Museum. In October, it will be part of a newly installed display case on the 1st floor. "Alongside many other new exhibits, it will then complement the large commemorative plaque for all those who fought in the war of 1870/71 from a church in Lebenstedt as a valuable testimony to individual remembrance," says Homann happily.