Science city of Darmstadt, Jewish community, Sinti and Roma Association and initiatives invite you to commemorate them together
On Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 12 p.m., a memorial event will take place at the Darmstadt freight station in the Galerie Kurzweil (Bismarckstraße 133) to remember the deportations of Darmstadt Jews as well as Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era.
The event is organized jointly by the science city of Darmstadt , the state association of the Sinti and Roma Hessen , the Jewish community of Darmstadt , the Güterbahnhof initiative and the alliances against right in South Hesse . The aim is to commemorate the historical crime and to set an example against forgetting.
Memory of the victims of the Nazi era
The event is reminiscent of two central deportations:
- On March 15, 1943, 69 Sinti from Darmstadt and the surrounding area were kidnapped by the Darmstadt criminal police. The victims were neighbors, classmates, colleagues - among them men, women, children and infants.
- The first deportation of Jewish citizens over Darmstadt on March 20, 1942 . The city played a central role because Jews were brought to Darmstadt from all over South Hesse and deported from there to the extermination camp.
Statements of the organizers
Mayor Hanno Benz:
“With this event we commemorate the victims of National Socialism together and set an example against forgetting. Over 80 years ago, millions of people became victims of hatred, racism and genocide, including many from our city. Today we are again experiencing right -wing radical attacks. It is our responsibility to learn from history and decide against prejudice and discrimination. ”
Adam Strauß, chairman of the regional association of German Sinti and Roma Hessen:
“We are not to blame for the deeds of the past, but we have the responsibility to learn from it. The memory of the victims is an appeal to us to stay vigilant and to use us for a democratic society. ”
Daniel Neumann, chairman of the Jewish community of Darmstadt:
"The hatred and the agitation that led to exclusion and finally to mass murder must not be a reminder to not allow us to fold in the fight against right -wing extremism - especially in times when extremist ideologies in Europe strengthen again."
Renate Dreesen, initiative of the Güterbahnhof initiative:
"The memory of the crimes of the Nazi era must stop us to decide every form of hatred, agitation and exclusion and to actively engage us for an open, democratic society."
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/DK)
