Juan Hoffmann: The name that was taken off the map

In October 2018 Ojén town hall changed the name of Plaza Juan Hoffmann, named after a former German consul. The change came after it was reported that he was number 37 on the postwar list of 104 Nazis living overseas and most wanted by the Allies.

The square, which became Plaza Alemania, is situated opposite of the German School, which in turn was founded by Hoffmann and for years also took his name.

Seven months later, in 2019, a monument of Juan Hoffmann was also removed from the square in Ojén.

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In 2013, the then Colegio Alemán Juan Hoffmann changed its name to Colegio Alemán de Málaga, dropping the association with the former German consul.

During his life Hoffmann was known on the Costa del Sol as the German consul in Malaga as well as the founder of the school. However, research carried out by the Spanish-German historian Carlos Collado Seidel from the University of Marburg brought to light Hoffmann's past and revealed that he had in fact been an agent of the Gestapo and the Secret Service (SS).

Born in 1916, Hans (Juan) Hoffmann Heinkeder emigrated to Spain with his family at the age of twelve.

Collado Seidel's research also revealed Hoffmann's involvement in the Spanish Civil War when he enlisted in the Condor Legion, a unit sent by Hitler to assist in the war, where he acted as a translator. He later moved to the División Azul (blue division), a favour returned by Franco to assist the Nazis during their Soviet invasion.

When the Second World War broke out Hoffmann was stationed in the press attaché's office of the German embassy in Madrid and later sent to the Russian front as a translator for the Spanish.

After the end of the war he remained in Spain and settled in Marbella and became honorary consul in Malaga. Hoffmann died in Malaga in 1998.