Commemoration of the victims of the Reichspogromnacht 1938
On 9 November: wreath-laying ceremony at 10 a.m., candlelight walks from 4.30 p.m.
On Wednesday, 9 November, Chemnitz remembers the victims of the pogrom night of 1938, when more than a thousand synagogues were burned in Germany - including the one in the city. Mayor Sven Schulze will lay a wreath at the stele on Stephanplatz, the former site of the Chemnitz synagogue, at 10 am. The programme will be organised by the Jewish Community of Chemnitz.
In the late afternoon of Remembrance Day, from 4.30 pm, the Chemnitz Stumbling Stones, which draw attention to the fates of the victims of National Socialism, will be honoured and cleaned. All 282 Stolpersteine, which have been laid in Chemnitz at the last places where the victims lived or worked, will be cleaned and provided with a candle under the motto "Paths of Light". This campaign, initiated by the Buntmacher:innen, is organised by a large network: The AG Stolpersteine, Omas gegen Rechts, the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, the Saxon Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz (smac), pupils of the Georgius Agricola Grammar School, the Evangelical Forum, the Ev.Luth. St.-Jakobi-Kreuzkirchgemeinde Chemnitz, the district office Reitbahnviertel, the Späti Chemnitz and numerous other private individuals are taking part. For the first time, 20 stumbling blocks in Mittweida will also be cleaned and fitted with cups of light.
The Buntmacher:innen initiative and the Stolpersteine working group are thus commemorating the atrocities of the Reichspogromnacht and the subsequent genocide of millions of Jews. The project is funded by the Local Action Plan for Democracy, Tolerance and a Cosmopolitan Chemnitz (LAP).
Actors from Chemnitz's civil society will gather at various stumbling blocks and commemorate the victims of the pogrom night together at so-called light points.
All the locations of the stumbling stones can be found at www.chemnitz.de/stolpersteine. The photos of the actions will also be published on this page, as well as on the social channels of the City of Chemnitz and the Buntmacher:innen with the hashtag #lichterwege.
The stumbling blocks can be cleaned with a tried and tested household remedy: flour and salt vinegar. This consists of two tablespoons of flour, two tablespoons of salt and enough vinegar.
Road closure:
To mark the wreath-laying ceremony at the stele on Stephanplatz, Reichsstraße will be completely closed between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße on Wednesday, 9 November from 9.30 am to around 12 noon. A bypass is possible via Hartmannstraße/Theaterstraße or Falkeplatz/Zwickauer Straße. The police will provide additional operational security for the event.
CVAG will announce any changes to bus services separately.
Background Stumbling Stones:
The stumbling stones commemorate citizens of Chemnitz who were murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide by the National Socialists.
The ten by ten centimetre Stumbling Stones are set into the pavement in front of the house where the people being honoured had their last address. The victims' names and dates of death are engraved on the brass plate of the concrete stones. Anyone who sees them as they pass by should stumble over them in their mind, pause for a moment and read the engraving.