Commemoration of the Reichspogromnacht 1938
Events to commemorate Kristallnacht
The night of 9 November 1938 ranks among the most horrific moments in German history. Across Germany, fascists systematically carried out brutal acts of violence against Jewish men and women, and destroyed shops and synagogues.
That night marked the turning point from discrimination to deportation and murder. In Chemnitz, too, brutal attacks on Jews took place that night, and the Chemnitz synagogue on Stephanplatz was also destroyed.
The city of Chemnitz commemorates this event annually with various events around 9 November.
Commemorating the victims of Kristallnacht
9 November 2026 at 11.00 am
Memorial stele, Stephanplatz, 09112 Chemnitz
The City of Chemnitz, in collaboration with the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, invites you to a wreath-laying ceremony featuring speeches and music.
Speakers will include Mayor Sven Schulze, President of the State Parliament Alexander Dierks, Dr Ruth Röcher, Chair of the Chemnitz Jewish Community, and Hannah Allen, a descendant of the Jewish Magen family from Chemnitz.
Lecture by Dr Wolfgang Niess Historian - Author - Moderator
The 9th of November. The Germans and their fateful day
9 November, 4 pm
The people of Chemnitz are invited to clean and illuminate the Chemnitz Stolpersteine in memory of the victims of Nazi tyranny. The locations of the Stolpersteine that have already been laid can be found at www.chemnitz.de/stolpersteine.
Anyone wishing to take part can contact the organisers by email (info@buntmacherinnen.eu) by 20 October.
Guided tour of the Chemnitz Jewish cemetery with tour guide Udo Mayer
9 November, 11 a.m.
Location: Am Laubengang 13, 09116 Chemnitz
The guided 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 headgear.
Memorial event at Stephanplatz - 9 November 2025, 3 pm
9 November, 3 p.m.
Location: Stephanplatz, 09112 Chemnitz
On Sunday, 9 November at 3 pm, the city of Chemnitz will commemorate the victims of the Reichspogromnacht on 9 November 1938 and the six million Jewish people murdered during the fascist tyranny. Lord Mayor Sven Schulze will lay a wreath at the stele on Stephanplatz, the former site of the Chemnitz synagogue. Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community, and Dr Herbert Lappe, descendant of a Jewish family from Chemnitz, will also speak. The choir of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz will perform music at the public commemoration ceremony.
Note on road closures:
Due to the commemoration at the stele on Stephanplatz, Reichsstraße will be completely closed between Zwickauer Straße and Weststraße on Sunday, 9 November, from 2.30 pm to approx. 4 pm. A bypass is possible via Weststraße - Zwickauer Straße or alternatively via Leipziger Straße - Hartmannstraße - Theaterstraße - Falkeplatz - Zwickauer Straße. The police will provide additional operational security for the event. CVAG will announce any changes to bus services separately.
Cleaning paths of light with stumbling blocks
9 November, from 4 pm
Location: Start Stephanplatz, 09112 Chemnitz, city-wide
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 sponsors of stumbling stones, as well as associations and institutions, are supporting the project and will be out and about on the day to clean the stumbling stones. On this day, they will clean the Stolpersteine and place a candle.
The campaign will set an example against forgetting throughout the city. Chemnitz residents who would like to actively support the campaign on Sunday, 9 November, can contact the Buntmacher*innen by email by 31 October : info(at)buntmacherinnen.eu
All 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.
An event organised by the AG Stolpersteine and the Buntmacher*innen. The event is open to the public.
TU Chemnitz sets "point of light" against forgetting
9 November, from 4 pm
Venue: Inner courtyard of the main building of Chemnitz University of Technology, Straße der Nationen 62
Since 1988, a memorial stone by Chemnitz sculptor Volker Beier in the inner courtyard of Chemnitz University of Technology's Straße der Nationen 62 has commemorated the deportation of Jewish citizens that began here between 1942 and 1945.
Interested visitors can talk to Stephan Luther, Head of the University Archive at Chemnitz University of Technology, between 4 and 6 pm. He will answer questions about the creation of the memorial and the associated deportation of Chemnitz Jews. He will also talk about the individual fates of those deported from Chemnitz. You are welcome to light a small light at the memorial stone to remember the victims of the deportation in silence.
Musical reading in memory of the November pogroms of 1938
9 November, 7 pm
Location: Hartmannfabrik Visitor and Information Centre, Fabrikstraße 11, 09111 Chemnitz
Erich Kästner "...and the catastrophe came."
Recitation/song by Johannes Göbel and Martin Mock
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 initiate an inner dialogue with Kästner by juxtaposing his diary entries from the final phase of the Second World War with poems by the author from the years
1929 to 1947, which have been set to music by Martin Mock - appeals and admonitions meet repetitive reality.
The event is open to the public. An event organised by the Buntmacher*innen.
Review of past Stumbling Stone cleaning campaigns
Action 2023
Review of past Stumbling Stone cleaning campaigns
Action 2022
Action 2021
