Memorial event for the victims of the pogrom night
Wreath-laying ceremony at the stele on Stephanplatz - on 9 November, 10 a.m.
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 at the stele on Stephanplatz on Thursday, 9 November 2017 at 10 am.
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 as a sign against terror, xenophobia and violence today.
The commemoration will open at 10 a.m. at the stele with a wreath-laying ceremony and a commemorative speech by Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig. The choir of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz will accompany the commemorative event with music. Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, will then address words of remembrance to the participants of the event. Rabbi Jakov Pertsofsky will hold the ritual Kaddish.
This year, 95 pupils from the Chemnitz schools Dr.-Wilhelm-André-Gymnasium, Untere Luisenschule, Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymnasium, Gymnasium Einsiedel and Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe-Gymnasium will take part in the commemoration.
Background:
The famous Chemnitz synagogue stood on Stephanplatz, the traditional site 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.
Please note:
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 will be fully closed to traffic in the section between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße from 9.30 a.m. on 9 November. Road users are asked for their consideration and understanding. There will be detours via Zwickauer Straße - Barbarossastraße - Weststraße or Zwickauer Straße - Theaterstraße - Kaßbergauffahrt - Weststraße. The commemorative event will end at around 10.50 a.m. - the road section will be reopened after the event has finished.