Nazi streets

The city of Hannover is reviewing the list of its streets, schools, and community centers to find out if they were named after Nazis. There are about 400 streets named after people who lived during the time of National Socialism, so I'm sure that some of them will be on the "naughty list". I know for a fact there is a Hindenburgstrasse not far from us, near the Hannover Zoo. Paul von Hindenburg was guy who appointed Hitler as chancellor, and the namesake of the famous exploded blimp. I am guessing that his street's on the hit list. So what happens then?

According to the Hannover newspaper, the city can only make decisions about memorial sites, community centers, and plaques about historic places. The neighborhood councils are in charge of street names, and schools decide for themselves. If a street is found to be named after a Nazi, the name could be changed, depending on what the neighborhood wants. The news article mentions the other option of adding a plaque under the offending street sign that refers to "historical problems". That could be an understatement. How much fine print could you fit on the plaque?

The streets in Hannover (and I think all of Germany) seem to change names roughly after every 43 meters, after every curve in the road, and/or after every third elm tree, so changing a street name or 200 wouldn't make getting aruond any more confusing than it already is, at least for me. I have mostly given up on street names and gone to an all landmark navigation system in my head. And the street names I do know get Americanized to fit more easily into my brain. So Ferdinand Wallbrecht Strasse becomes "Ferdy Wall" and Rudolf Bennigsen Ufer becomes "that street where they have the flea market".

Would changing the street names be cheating? Would it be an attempt to erase or ignore history? Naming a street after someone is an honor, but does that honor need to last forever?
I remember going to the history museum in Santiago when I did my semester in Chile. The exhibits were very informative until they reached 1973 and then... just stopped.

Of course, I would not want to buy a house on Hitler Allee or Pinochet Place or Pol Pot Avenue. Maybe it is best to leave the decisions up to the people living in that neighborhood. They can figure out whether it's worth posting a disclaimer plaque about the street's namesake's political affiliations, crimes against humanity, or other entanglements. Of course, if you are unhappy with the name of the street you are on, just keep going. It will have a new name just after the next tree.