Commemorating the pogrom night 74 years ago - setting a committed example for remembrance and against terror and violence today
Wreath-laying ceremony on 9 November at the stele on Stephanplatz in Chemnitz Mayor asks the people of Chemnitz to take part in the event
Mayor Barbara Ludwig is asking citizens to take part in the event as a committed sign in favour of active remembrance and at the same time against terror and violence today.
The commemoration will open at 10 a.m. at the stele on Stephanplatz with a wreath-laying ceremony and a rendition of "Eli, Eli..." by the choir of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz. Psalm 130 will be followed by a commemorative address by the Mayor of Chemnitz, Barbara Ludwig. The community choir will sing "Es brennt" and "Wir leben weiter", and Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, will address words of remembrance to the participants of the event. The commemoration will conclude with the singing of "El male rachamim" by Cantor Alexander Saharenko and the traditional Kaddish, the prayer for the dead.
In Chemnitz, the victims of the Nazi regime are also remembered with the laying of stumbling stones; the city of Chemnitz has been involved in the project by artist Gunter Demnig since 2007 - since then, 64 stumbling stones have been laid(www.chemnitz.de). The famous Chemnitz synagogue stood on Stephanplatz, the traditional site of the annual commemorative event organised by the City of Chemnitz together with the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, until its destruction on the night of the pogrom in 1938. The new place of worship of the Jewish community of Chemnitz was consecrated on 24 May 2002 on the Kapellenberg at Stollberger Straße 28. The Jewish community of Chemnitz, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2010, now has over 650 members. Before the persecution and murder by the National Socialists, around 3,500 people of Jewish faith lived in Chemnitz in 1933.
Please note: In order to be able to hold the commemorative event at the stele on Stephanplatz in a dignified and quiet setting appropriate to the occasion, i.e. In order to be able to hold the memorial service at Stephanplatz in an overall dignified and peaceful setting, i.e. without the traffic noise of the main roads directly adjacent to the memorial site, Reichsstraße will be fully closed to traffic on Friday morning from 9.30 a.m. in the section between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße. Road users are asked for their consideration and understanding. The memorial event will end at around 10.45 a.m., after which the road section will be reopened.