Wreath-laying ceremony at the stele on Stephanplatz/ inauguration of the memorial plaque on the station forecourt

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 next Monday, 9 November 2015 at 10 am.

Mayor Barbara Ludwig is asking citizens to take part in the event as a committed sign of active remembrance and at the same time to set an example 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 artistic music. After the choir singing, Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, will address words of remembrance to the participants of the event. Rabbi Jakov Pertsovsky will recite the prayer "El male rachamim". The commemoration will be concluded with the Kaddish, the traditional prayer for the dead, by Rabbi Pertsovsky and Siegmund Rotstein.

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 it was destroyed in the pogrom night of 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 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. In order to be able to hold the memorial service at Stephanplatz in an overall dignified and peaceful setting, 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 on Monday morning from 9.30 a.m. Road users are asked for their consideration and understanding. Diversions are possible 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.

In the late afternoon of the same day, at 5 pm, Mayor Sven Schulze will dedicate a memorial plaque to the victims of deportation during the Nazi era on the forecourt of Chemnitz railway station. The plaque was donated by the FUER Chemnitz citizens' association, the Jewish community, the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime and the League of Anti-Fascists. It is intended to commemorate the transport of Jews and other citizens to the extermination camps. In addition to Mayor Sven Schulze, speakers will include Siegmund Rotstein, honorary citizen of the city of Chemnitz, Dr Ruth Röscher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, Dieter Nendel, a native of Chemnitz and initiator of the memorial plaque, Justin Sonder, an Auschwitz survivor, Dr Jürgen Nitsche, historian, and the founder of the memorial plaque. Jürgen Nitsche, historian, and Hans-Rüdiger Minow, author of the book "Der Zug der Erinnerung, die Deutsche Bahn und der Kampf gegen das Vergessen" will take part in the event.

Further events to commemorate and remember the pogrom night
The Evangelical Forum Chemnitz draws attention to the following events on 9 November 2015 in Chemnitz:

Monday, 6 pm, St Johannis Youth Church, Theresenstraße 2
Prayer for peace to commemorate the Reichspogromnacht in cooperation with the Evangelical Student Community in the St. Johannis Youth Church. "What happened on 9 November 1938 in Chemnitz?": Joint remembrance led by Pastor Dr Christoph Herbst and Pastor Dorothee Lücke.

Monday, 7.15 pm, Jewish Community Centre, Stollberger Straße 28
To commemorate the Reichspogromnacht: "Survival in the Third Reich. Jews in the underground and their helpers. The example of Chemnitz." A joint event organised by the Jewish Community of Chemnitz and the Evangelical Forum. The speaker is Dr Jürgen Nitsche. The Schir Semer choir of the Chemnitz Jewish Community will provide the musical accompaniment under the direction of Taisa Leyenson.