ADVERTISING
The City of Science Darmstadt, the Jewish Community, the Sinti and Roma Association and initiatives invite you to a joint commemoration
On Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 12 noon, a memorial event will take place at the Darmstadt freight depot in the Kurzweil Gallery (Bismarckstraße 133) to commemorate the deportations of Darmstadt Jews, Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era.
The event is jointly organized by the City of Darmstadt , the State Association of Sinti and Roma in Hesse , the Jewish Community of Darmstadt , the Güterbahnhof Memorial Initiative , and the alliances against right-wing extremism in southern Hesse . Its aim is to commemorate the historical crimes and to send a message against forgetting.
Remembering the victims of the Nazi era
The event commemorates two key deportations:
- On March 15, 1943, 69 Sinti from Darmstadt and the surrounding area were deported by the Darmstadt criminal police. The victims were neighbors, classmates, colleagues – among them men, women, children, and infants.
- The first deportation of Jewish citizens via Darmstadt as early as March 20, 1942. The city played a central role, as Jews from all over southern Hesse were brought to Darmstadt and from there deported to the extermination camps.
Statements from the organizers
Mayor Hanno Benz:
“With this event, we commemorate the victims of National Socialism together and send a message against forgetting. Over 80 years ago, millions of people fell victim to hatred, racism, and genocide, including many from our city. Today, we are once again experiencing right-wing extremist attacks. It is our responsibility to learn from history and to resolutely oppose prejudice and discrimination.”
Adam Strauss, Chairman of the State Association of German Sinti and Roma in Hesse:
“We bear no guilt for the acts of the past, but we have a responsibility to learn from them. Remembering the victims is a call to us to remain vigilant and to stand up for a democratic society.”
Daniel Neumann, Chairman of the Jewish Community of Darmstadt:
“The hatred and incitement that led to exclusion and ultimately to mass murder must serve as a warning to us not to let up in the fight against right-wing extremism – especially in times when extremist ideologies are once again gaining strength in Europe.”
Renate Dreesen, Initiative Denkzeichen Güterbahnhof:
“The memory of the crimes of the Nazi era must encourage us to resolutely oppose all forms of hatred, incitement and exclusion, and to actively engage in promoting an open, democratic society.”
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/DK)
