Speech at the wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the victims of Kristallnacht on 9 November 2026

Dear Mr President of the State Parliament, dear Alexander Dierks,
Honourable Members of the German Bundestag and the Saxon State Parliament, Honourable Members of Chemnitz City Council,
Dr Röcher,
Members of the Jewish community in Chemnitz,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear pupils,
dear guests

9 November is a day that sends a shiver down our spines year after year. It is a day for reflection, but also a day that serves as a warning and calls us to account.

Today marks the 88th anniversary of the November pogroms of 1938. In Chemnitz, too, Jewish shops were looted, people were attacked, and the synagogue on Stephanplatz was deliberately set alight and destroyed. Our city still bears the scars of this to this day. The Jewish community, which had numbered several thousand members before the Nazi era, was almost wiped out during the Nazi regime. It was not until 2002 that a synagogue could be inaugurated again in Chemnitz.

Today we remember the victims. But we do not merely recall the past. For anti-Semitism is by no means a problem that we have overcome. On the contrary: we are witnessing, worldwide and in Germany too, an alarming resurgence of anti-Semitic attitudes and even attacks.

The figures speak for themselves: in 2025 alone, 8,725 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded across Germany. In 2026, too, the level remains alarmingly high. Jewish people are being verbally abused, threatened and attacked. They face hostility in their everyday lives, in schools and at universities. Synagogues and Jewish institutions must be protected. People are withdrawing from society out of fear and sometimes concealing their Jewish identity.

We must not remain indifferent to this. And we must certainly not be left speechless by it. That is why we must speak out: clearly, unequivocally and every single time we encounter anti-Semitic hatred. It is not enough to reassure one another once a year on 9 November that such a thing must never happen again.

‘Never again’ is not a promise concerning the past. It is a yardstick for how we act today. This also includes protecting our democracy. For the crimes of the National Socialists have brutally shown us where exclusion, contempt for humanity and the destruction of democratic structures can lead.

Democracy cannot be taken for granted. It needs people who stand up for it. People who defend fundamental democratic values, who respect the rule of law, and who protect the independence of the judiciary and the media just as much as they protect parliamentary freedom.

When authoritarian ways of thinking, extremism, racism and the trivialisation of our history begin to seep deeper into people’s minds once again, we must be vigilant.

We must not allow exclusion to become socially acceptable, nor must we allow people to become desensitised in the face of hatred and incitement. This does not begin with violence. It often begins much earlier – with words, with prejudice and with turning a blind eye.

The personal story of our guest today, Hannah Allen, also shows us that memories are not abstract constructs. Her grandmother, Annelies Magen, was born in Chemnitz in 1920. She managed to flee to England. However, Annelies Magen’s parents and her siblings did not survive the Holocaust.


Dear Ms Allen,

the fact that you are here today to share your family history with us means a great deal to us. It makes it clear that the history of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust is not a distant past that no longer concerns us. No, it extends right into the present.

Another important sign of the normality of Jewish life in Saxony this year was the ‘Tacheles’ Year of Jewish Culture. It is now drawing to a close, and we can already take stock of its positive achievements. In September, we celebrated the thousandth event.

By the end of the year, there will have been a total of almost 1,500 events: concerts, exhibitions, theatre performances, readings, talks and many encounters. This shows just how great the interest in Jewish culture, history and the present day is. Above all, however, ‘Tacheles’ has raised the profile of Jewish life and brought people together. This is a success on which we should build. For Jewish life is an integral part of our society. Without any ifs or buts. Not merely as part of our culture of remembrance, but as a living part of our present and future.

[Salutation],

let us use this day to remember, to listen and to reflect. But above all, let us also embrace the responsibility that arises from this: to protect Jewish life, to stand firm against antisemitism and to defend our democracy anew every single day.

For living together in freedom, diversity and mutual respect is only possible if we leave no room for misanthropy and violence.

Thank you very much.

(The spoken word takes precedence.)