Chemnitz mourns the loss of honorary citizen Justin Sonder

The city of Chemnitz mourns the loss of its honorary citizen Justin Sonder, who died on 3 November 2020 at the age of 95.

Mayor Miko Runkel: "I am very sad - as are many Chemnitz residents who knew Justin Sonder and appreciated him as a warm-hearted and intelligent person. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family. In Justin Sonder, we have lost one of the last survivors of the Holocaust and an important contemporary witness. He tirelessly kept the memory alive like no other: for over 30 years, he was a sought-after dialogue partner who was invited by schools and associations. He told thousands of pupils about the darkest times in German history. In doing so, he made a valuable and invaluable contribution to the culture of remembrance and commemoration."

Justin Sonder was born on 18 October 1925 in Chemnitz, the son of a housewife and a merchant and wine salesman. He was confronted with growing anti-Semitism as a child and experienced the pogrom night in Chemnitz on 9 November 1938. He later learned the trade of cook and was forced to work in an armaments factory in Chemnitz from autumn 1941 to February 1943. On 27 February 1943, Justin Sonder was arrested and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. There he survived unimaginable conditions, hunger, beatings, forced labour and a total of 17 selections. After several death marches, Justin Sonder finally reached Wetterfeld in Franconia in April 1945, where he was liberated by the American army on 23 April 1945. On 19 June 1945, Justin Sonder and his father returned to his hometown, where he had lived ever since.

When Christian Wulff was the first German President to speak in Auschwitz in January 2011, Justin Sonder was one of the members of his delegation. In 2015, Justin Sonder received the Medal of Honour from the International Auschwitz Committee. This makes the Chemnitz native one of around 400 honourees worldwide. The honour is awarded to survivors who did not withdraw into silence after their time in the concentration camp, but instead raised their voices to carry out educational and preventative work.

Since 1997, Justin Sonder has organised more than 500 events with thousands of schoolchildren. In his talks, Justin Sonder tells of horrific experiences, but also mentions how a master butcher, butter merchant and hairdresser from Chemnitz helped him. Despite the suffering he endured, he never lost his humanity. He taught pupils to see the light in the shadows and to recognise alternative courses of action. With his lectures about his time in Auschwitz, he brought history to life and made it tangible. His message to the younger generation is therefore all the more impressive: the following generations, for whom peace and democracy always seemed to be a matter of course, must ensure time and again that a crime against humanity such as that of National Socialism cannot be repeated.

At the age of 90, Justin Sonder travelled to Detmold at the beginning of 2016 to testify against a former guard at the extermination camp in what was possibly the last major Auschwitz trial, in which he also appeared as a joint plaintiff. With his testimony, he helped to ensure late justice.

The City of Chemnitz awarded Justin Sonder honorary citizenship at a ceremony on 21 April 2017 in recognition of his tireless commitment as one of the few Auschwitz survivors and one of the last contemporary witnesses to keep alive the memory of the atrocities committed by the National Socialist regime. Justin Sonder was previously awarded the Chemnitz Peace Prize in 2008.

A book of condolence is available on the ground floor of Chemnitz Town Hall.