Commemorative event on 17 June
Wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial to the victims of Stalinism - 11 a.m. at the Hohe Straße memorial stele - invitation for media representatives
The 67th anniversary of the popular uprising in the GDR in 1953 will be commemorated with a memorial event in Chemnitz on Wednesday, 17 June 2020. The event is dedicated to the persecuted and victims in the Soviet occupation zone in the years 1945 to 1949 and later in the GDR as well as all victims of Stalinist dictatorships after 1945. The event is organised by the Association of Victims of Stalinism.
The commemorative event will begin at 11 a.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial stele on the site opposite the district court (Hohe Straße 23). The Halmstadt gneiss memorial erected there in 1999 bears the inscription "To the victims of tyranny 1945 - 1989".
Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend. Due to the current situation, this is not a public memorial event. We therefore ask that you refrain from sending an invitation to the people of Chemnitz.
After a welcome address by Holker Thierfeld, Chairman of the Association of Former Political Prisoners, Association of Victims of Stalinism / Chemnitz District Group, Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig will address those present. Members of the state parliament and the pastor/deputy superintendent Dr Magdalena Herbst will also speak. Andreas Winkler, teacher at the municipal music school, will provide musical accompaniment to the commemoration.