23rd Chemnitz Peace Day: Peace for the city - a city for peace

5 March marks the 79th anniversary of the bombing and destruction of Chemnitz during the Second World War. This year's 23rd Chemnitz Peace Day takes this event as an opportunity to remember the victims of the war and at the same time send a strong signal in favour of peace, democracy and cosmopolitanism. Numerous actors from Chemnitz and the surrounding area are organising the Peace Day with a diverse programme. Commemorative events, readings, exhibitions and prayers for peace invite people to pause for thought, reflect on the horrors of war and realise the importance of peace in today's world.

The Chemnitz Peace Day begins at 10 a.m. on 5 March with the traditional memorial service at the municipal cemetery. A wreath will be laid at the memorial to the victims of the bombing of the city of Chemnitz.

Programme on the Neumarkt

The activities on the Neumarkt will begin at 11 am. The people of Chemnitz can ask for peace wishes at the peace cross. The cross was redesigned by the workshops of the municipal theatre.

11 a.m., Democracy Centre Chemnitz: "What is democracy?". Everyone is talking about the threat to democracy. But what do we mean by democracy? What is needed for democratic coexistence? A survey of visitors to the Chemnitz Peace Day. Project of the citizens' association FUER CHEMNITZ e. V. and the Chemnitz Peace Day working group, in cooperation with the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH. Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Free State of Saxony and the City of Chemnitz.

Four exhibitions will also be on display on the Neumarkt from 11 a.m: "Hibakusha Worldwide" - Health and environmental consequences of the "Nuclear Chain" "Kindertransporte" - Out of Nazi Germany "Partnerships in Times of Crisis" - City of Chemnitz "Find Your Way!" - Presentation of illustrations of works by Stefan Heym

From 3 pm there will be a colouring activity for children on the topic "How much peace does a child need". The event is organised by Peter Fiebig with the support of the KJF e. V. creative centre.

At 2, 3, 4 and 5 p.m. , films by Chemnitz witnesses who experienced the bombing of Chemnitz on 5 March 1945 will be shown in the city council chamber of the town hall.

The peace routes to Neumarkt begin at 5 pm at six starting points: Jewish Community of Chemnitz, Synagogue Stollberger Straße 28; Islamic Cultural Association in Chemnitz e. V., Mosque Solbrigstraße 22a; Propsteikirche St. Johannes Nepomuk, Hohe Straße 1; Friedenskirche, Kaßbergstraße 30; St. Petrikirche, Theaterplatz and already at 4.30 pm at the starting point Haus der Gewerkschaften - DGB Chemnitz, Augustusburger Straße 33.

At 5.30 pm , "The Chemnitz Peace Bells" will be played on the carillon by Franzpeter Uhlig.

Programme on the stage

5.30 pm The peace runners of the Lauf-KulTour e. V. and Stadtsportbund Chemnitz e. V. running event will be given a send-off. The 12.5 kilometre route will form a candle as a symbol for peace. Changing and parking facilities will be available in the town hall.

17.40 hrs The peace banners from Chemnitz schools from the Aktion © art project will be presented. These will be presented by the pupils themselves. Bookmarks of all the banners will be available to take away.

The main event entitled "Menschenkinder" (human children) begins at 6 pm on Neumarkt square. Mayor Sven Schulze commemorates the victims of past and present wars together with all those present. The Young Choir of the Chemnitz Municipal Music School (conducted by Tina Pulst and Anke Schneider), Henrik Lehmann (piano), Hannes Malkowksi (cachon), Cornelia Blaudeck (carillon) and the Chemnitz TheatreYouthClub will perform the artistic programme, organised by the Chemnitz Peace Day working group.

The day will end at 9 pm at the Peace Cross, accompanied by the ringing of Chemnitz church bells. Musical accompaniment by the Chemnitz Singakademie.

Programme in the city church of St. Jacobi

11 a.m. The St. Jacobi City Church, Jakobikirchplatz 1, will be opened: Focus on the bronze sculpture "Torso & Stahlhelm II (Die Betrogenen)" (2022) by Erik Neukirchner in his current exhibition "Bekenntnisse" (on display from 29 February to 14 April)

From 3 to 5.30 p.m. you are invited to a presentation of poems and a musical programme in the St. Jakobi town church. At 3 pm, the young singers from Tina Pulst's singing class at the municipal music school will give a concert. At 4 pm, the ensemble "100 Mozartkinder" of the Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e. V. will perform under the direction of its mentors Mathis Stendike, Magda Roznicka and Emi Suzuki. At 5 pm, you can listen to a concert by the StreichHölzer of the Municipal Music School under the direction of Andreas Winkler. Between the musical programme items, readings are planned by the Omas gegen Rechts initiative and the Jakobi-Kreuz young congregation.

The ecumenical peace service entitled "Menschenkinder" will begin at 8 pm in St Jakobi's Church. Sermon: Bettina Westfeld, President of the Regional Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony. There will be an introductory interview with her at 7.30 pm.

Programme at the TIETZ

From 1 to 2.30 p.m. and from 3 to 4.30 p.m., peace readings will take place in the TIETZ, on the stage in the foyer, under the title "Read & Let Read - Own and Foreign". You can bring your own texts and read them. The order of reading will be determined by drawing lots. The maximum reading time is seven minutes. Pre-registration is not necessary. Peter Piek will provide the music and the event will be moderated by Ulrike Brummert and Uwe Hastreiter. The peace readings are a co-operation between Chemnitz City Library and the Ent_Rüstet formation.

Programme at other locations in Chemnitz

From 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm, children and young people aged seven to 17 are invited to the Universitas bookshop, Reichenhainer Straße 55, to discuss texts on the topic "I am because you are - Is non-violent communication a human right?" and to write and read aloud themselves. The DRK youth club "Club95" Chemnitz-Röhrsdorf is co-organising the event with artistic works in a shop window exhibition.

From 3 to 4.30 pm, all interested parties are invited to a lecture entitled "Like lambs to the slaughter? - Jewish resistance and self-assertion in Saxony 1933-1945" at the Bürgerhaus City, Rosenhof 18. Speaker Bertram Seidel will present current research findings from the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime. Enrico Hilbert will moderate the event. The event is sponsored by the Monom Foundation and is jointly organised by the Association of Anti-Fascists Chemnitz (VVN-BdA) and Bürgerhaus City e. V.



Further events are also planned in the city centre by various actors, such as the Buntmacher*innen and Omas gegen Rechts.

Further updates on the Chemnitz Peace Day and information on the supporting programme can be found at www.chemnitz.de/friedenstag
www.chemnitzer-friedenstag.de
https://chemnitzer-friedenstag.de/programm-2024/

Peace messages from partner cities
To mark Peace Day on 5 March, six of Chemnitz's partner cities - Manchester, Düsseldorf, Kirjat Bialik, Mulhouse, Timbuktu and Ústí nad Labem - have sent messages of peace. These can be viewed on the City of Chemnitz YouTube channel at City of Chemnitz - YouTube