Chemnitz commemorates the victims of the pogrom night
Mayor calls for open and tolerant coexistence - Stumbling stone commemorates victims of the pogrom 75 years ago
Around one hundred citizens of Chemnitz commemorated the victims of the pogrom night 75 years ago today with a wreath-laying ceremony at the stele on Stephanplatz. The city of Chemnitz, together with the Jewish community, had called on people to take part in the commemorative event. The event was accompanied by klezmer music.
In her speech, Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig recalled 9 November 1938, when Jewish synagogues were burned throughout Germany: The authorities in Chemnitz also played an active and meticulous role in this unprecedented discrimination, disenfranchisement, expulsion and murder of over 3,500 Jewish citizens of our city.
"Jewish life is flourishing again in Chemnitz today. We are proud of the new synagogue consecrated in 2002. The fact that our Jewish fellow citizens feel comfortable and secure in Chemnitz depends on our actions. The members of the Jewish community who came to us trust us. I want us to see this trust as a great treasure and a great opportunity."
The Chemnitz synagogue had also fallen victim to the flames. It stood on the site of the annual memorial service on Stephanplatz until it was destroyed during the pogrom night. In 2010, the Jewish community of Chemnitz celebrated its 125th anniversary in the new place of worship on the Kapellenberg at Stollberger Straße 28 with 610 members.
Mayor Barbara Ludwig also emphasised the responsibility of today's generations for dealing with the difficult historical legacy: "Whether our Jewish citizens feel comfortable and secure in Chemnitz depends on our actions." Both in everyday life and in the culture of remembrance, it is important to work towards an open and tolerant city. Stumbling stones, which commemorate citizens of Chemnitz who were victims of National Socialism, were also part of the commemoration.
Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community, then took the floor and urged that lessons be learnt from the past. Society must not remain silent, she said, but must raise its voice against racism, xenophobia and right-wing tendencies at the right time.
The event was concluded with the Jewish prayer for the dead, Kaddish, and the singing of the Israeli cantor Yakow Shmidow.
Many of the participants in the memorial event and pupils from the Annenschule then followed the laying of the stumbling stone in honour of Hermann Fürstenheim in front of the TIETZ building in Chemnitz.
Born in 1877 as the son of a Jewish merchant in Pomerania, Hermann Fürstenheim moved to Chemnitz in 1904 and took over the management of the Chemnitz branch of the Tietz department stores'. Together with his wife Ida Fürstenheim and their children Manfred and Heinz-Joachim, he lived in a villa on Kaßberg, where he was murdered on the morning of 10 November 1938 during the November pogrom.
The stumbling block in front of the entrance to the TIETZ on Reitbahnstraße commemorates his fate. TIETZ operations manager Bernd Ruscher took over the sponsorship.
In Chemnitz, 81 Stolpersteine have already been laid in memory of victims of National Socialist despotism. The city has supported the project by Cologne-based artist Gunter Demnig since 2007, with the last installation taking place on 25 September 2013 in the presence of the artist. The dates of life engraved on small brass plates provide information about former residents of Chemnitz who were persecuted, deported, murdered or driven to their deaths during the Nazi regime due to their origin, religion or political beliefs.
All information on the subject of stumbling blocks in Chemnitz can be found on the city's website at www.chemnitz.de/stolpersteine