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'Never again' – Remembering the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp eighty years ago
On the occasion of the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, which will be commemorated for the eightieth time on January 27, 2025, Mayor Hanno Benz remembers Darmstadt's Jewish faith and Sinti who fell victim to the deportations and genocide perpetrated by the National Socialists.
“The globally observed Holocaust Remembrance Day recalls the horrors perpetrated by the National Socialists and the immense suffering they caused. Especially at a time when antisemitic and xenophobic sentiments, long thought to have been overcome, are once again gaining traction in Germany and around the world, the significance of the cry ‘Never again’ must be emphasized. To quote Shoah survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel: ‘It is impossible to speak of it, but it is forbidden to remain silent,’ said Mayor Hanno Benz. From Darmstadt, over 3,400 men, women, and children of Jewish faith were deported to German extermination camps during the Nazi dictatorship, primarily to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but also to Belzec, Majdanek, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Piaski, and murdered there.” Among them were personalities such as Marie Trier (1895-1942), who ran a well-known literary and artistic salon in Darmstadt, the curator of the Hessian State Museum, the art historian Dr. Karl Freund (1882-1943) and the former Minister of the Interior of the People's State of Hesse, Heinrich Fulda (1860-1943).
Mayor Benz also recalled Darmstadt residents such as Wehrmacht Major Karl Plagge, who rescued several hundred Jews in Vilna, and Otto Busse, who moved to Darmstadt after the Second World War and did the same in Bialystok. Both were honored as "Righteous Among the Nations" at Yad Vashem.
The official commemoration by the City of Darmstadt will take place on Monday, January 27, at 11:00 a.m. in the Centralstation. The event is a collaboration with the Justus Liebig School in Darmstadt, whose own history is linked to the deportations from Darmstadt, and the Darmstadt State Theatre, which will provide the musical accompaniment. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Bag checks will be conducted upon entry for security reasons.
Students from the Justus Liebig School are creating project contributions focusing on the role of the school building during the Nazi era, which was used by the National Socialists as a collection and transit camp for German-Jewish deportation victims from the People's State of Hesse. The LIO school project "Story Collectors," which includes interviews with eyewitnesses and second-degree witnesses, is also featured.
In the evening, Mayor Hanno Benz will also speak at the rally "Never Again is Now. Together Against Antisemitism and Hatred of Israel." The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at Luisenplatz and is organized by the initiative "Never Again is Now – Darmstadt" in cooperation with the Darmstadt branch of the German-Israeli Society.
The Friends of the Liberal Synagogue Darmstadt Association is also organizing the guided tour "In the Footsteps of Darmstadt's Jewish Victims of Auschwitz" (using the examples of Marie Trier, Heinrich Fulda, and Karl Freund, 2:30 p.m., meeting point: Liberal Synagogue Memorial Site, hospital grounds, access via Bleichstraße/near Gagernstraße). Participation is free of charge.
SV Darmstadt 98 will hold a memorial walk on Monday evening. It will begin at 5:15 p.m. at Schlossgartenplatz, the founding site of SV 98. The route will proceed along Ernst-Ludwig-Straße, Holzstraße, past the Jugendstilbad (Art Nouveau swimming pool), then along Hochstraße and Annastraße to its endpoint at Dr.-Karl-Heß-Platz by the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. Along the route, the memorial walk will stop at various Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorating members of SV 98 who were persecuted during the Nazi era. A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at Dr.-Karl-Heß-Platz at approximately 7:15 p.m., followed by speeches, including one from Mayor Hanno Benz.
The world premiere of Bracha Bdil's song cycle "Letters to Fred" on Sunday, January 26, at 7 p.m. at the Darmstadt State Theatre will commemorate the murdered and the rescued members of Fred Herzberg's family. "The works by Gideon Klein, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Morton Feldman, through the medium of music, explore the burning questions that remembrance poses for our own humanity in the present and future," says Artistic Director Karsten Wiegand.
Since 1996, January 27th has been the official Holocaust Remembrance Day in Germany, at the initiative of the then Federal President Roman Herzog; since 2005, Holocaust Remembrance Day has been observed worldwide at the initiative of the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
(DARMSTADT – / fre, stip)
