Commemoration of the victims of the 1938 pogrom night

To commemorate and remember the Jewish citizens of the city who were victims of the fascist pogrom night on 9 November 1938 or who were murdered in the following years during the fascist tyranny, the City of Chemnitz will hold a memorial event on Friday, 9 November 2018, 12 noon, at the stele on Stephanplatz. The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, will take part.

Mayor Barbara Ludwig is asking the people of Chemnitz to take part in the commemoration as a sign of active remembrance and at the same time to set an example against terror, xenophobia and violence today.
The commemoration will open at 12 noon at the stele with a wreath-laying ceremony.

This will be followed by a welcoming address by Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig, a commemorative speech by Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, and a speech by Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of Saxony.

The choir of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz will provide artistic and musical accompaniment to the commemorative event.

Traffic information:
In order to be able to hold the memorial service at the stele on Stephanplatz in a dignified and quiet setting appropriate to the occasion, i.e. without traffic noise from the main roads directly adjacent to the memorial site, Reichsstraße between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße will be completely closed on 9 November from 11.30 am until the end of the event at around 1.15 pm. Road users are asked to take a wide detour around the area via Hartmannstraße/Theaterstraße or Falkeplatz/Zwickauer Straße. The event will be additionally secured by the Chemnitz Police Headquarters with operational measures. CVAG will announce any changes to bus services separately.

Background:
The famous Chemnitz Synagogue stood on Stephanplatz, the traditional location of the annual commemoration 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 house of worship of the Jewish community of Chemnitz was consecrated on 24 May 2002 on the Kapellenberg at Stollberger Straße 28. In 2010, the Jewish community of Chemnitz celebrated its 125th anniversary. Before the persecution and murder by the National Socialists, around 3,500 people of Jewish faith lived in Chemnitz in 1933. There are currently around 600 members of the Chemnitz Jewish community.

Evening event on Remembrance Day at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz

To mark the end of Remembrance Day, a combination of reading and film screening will take place on 9 November at 6.30 pm in the Säulensaal of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz on Theaterplatz. The reading will be from the book "Wir Leben weiter" by Franz T. Cohn.
Franz T. Cohn, born in Chemnitz in 1927 and a Jew, fled to Sweden.

During his escape, Franz T. Cohn was supported by the Berlin publisher Gottfried Bermann Fischer, who will be the subject of the second part of the evening. A documentary about Fischer's life and work will be shown. The reading will be given by actor Christian Ruth from Chemnitz Theatres.

Traffic obstructions on 9 November

Due to the events and demonstrations, there will be traffic obstructions in the city centre on Friday, 9 November:

Reichsstraße (Stephansplatz), between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße,
Full closure from 11.30 a.m. to 1.15 p.m.

Brückenstraße, between Straße der Nationen and Theaterstraße,
Full closure in the period from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Brückenstraße, between Bahnhofstraße and Straße der Nationen,
Full closure in the period from 12.30 to 23 hrs

Straße der Nationen, between Carolastraße and Brückenstraße,
Complete closure in the period from 12.30 pm to 11 pm