Commemoration of the victims of the Reichspogromnacht

The night of 9 November 1938 is one of the most horrific moments in German history. Throughout Germany, fascists systematically committed brutal acts of violence against Jews, destroying shops and synagogues. The night marked the turning point from discrimination to deportation and murder. Brutal attacks on Jews also took place in Chemnitz that night and the Chemnitz synagogue on Stephanplatz was also destroyed. In addition to the wreath-laying ceremony on Sunday, the city of Chemnitz is commemorating this event with further events:


Saturday, 8 November, and Friday, 5 December, both at 8 p.m.
Theatre project on the history of the Kindertransporte 1938/1939: "We will follow"
Location: Chemnitz Theatre, Spinnbau - Figurentheater, Altchemnitzer Str. 27

With the puppet theatre production "Wir werden nachkommen" ("We will follow"), the Chemnitz Theatre addresses the so-called Kindertransporte, in which mainly Jewish children and young people from Chemnitz and Germany were transported to (initially) safe destinations abroad. The first trains travelled from Berlin to England at the end of November 1938, with other countries following. The play approaches the persecution by the Nazi regime and the Kindertransport system from a historical-biographical perspective and tells this part of European history from the point of view of three children whose view of the world of that time still has an impact today.

The revolution of 1918/19, the Hitler coup of 1923, the pogrom night of 1938, Georg Elser's assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and the peaceful revolution of 1989 - all of these events are linked to 9 November. More than any other day of the year, this "fateful day" reflects the German 20th century with all its upheavals and contradictions.

The historian, author and presenter Dr Wolfgang Niess explains what happened on each occasion and describes the struggle for remembrance.



Sunday, 9 November, 11 a.m.
Guided tour of the Chemnitz Jewish cemetery
Meeting point: Am Laubengang 13

Tour guide Udo Mayer invites interested visitors to learn more about the Jewish cemetery on a guided tour. The tour lasts approx. 1.5 hours and is free of charge. A donation for the preservation of the historic gravestones is requested. Male visitors are requested to wear a head covering.

As in previous years, the Chemnitz Stolpersteine will be cleaned and commemorated on 9 November 2025 to mark Remembrance Day. All 360 Stolpersteine that have been laid in Chemnitz at the last places where the victims lived or worked will be cleaned as part of the Lichterwege campaign initiated by the Buntmacher:innen. More than 100 private individuals, including patrons of Stolpersteine, as well as associations and institutions, are supporting the project and will be out and about on the day to clean Stolpersteine. On this day, they will clean the Stolpersteine and place a candle.

All the locations of the Stolpersteine can be found at www.chemnitz.de/stolpersteine. Photos of the cleaning activities will be published on the social channels of the City of Chemnitz and the Buntmacher:innen with the hashtag #lichterwege.

A public event organised by the AG Stolpersteine and the Buntmacher:innen.


Sunday, 9 November, 7 pm
Musical reading in remembrance of the November 1938 pogroms: "Erich Kästner "...and the catastrophe came."
Venue: Hartmannfabrik, Fabrikstraße 11

The threat of war always looms because people are the way they are. Kästner put this fear into words throughout his life. In recitation and song, Johannes Göbel and Martin Mock set an inner dialogue of Kästner in motion by combining his diary notes from the final phase of the Second World War with poems by Kästner himself.
World War II poems by the author from the years 1929 to 1947, which were set to music by Martin Mock - appeals and admonitions meet repetitive reality.

A public event organised by Buntmacher:innen.

All events can also be found at www.chemnitz.de/gedenken9november.