Commemoration on the 80th anniversary
How do we want to commemorate today? How can we ensure that everyone - young and old - remembers together?
We asked ourselves these questions long before the 80th anniversary. The 80th anniversary of the deaths of the 20 Jewish children and 28 adult prisoners on 20 April coincided this year with the end of the Jewish festival of Pesah and the Christian festival of Easter. We decided to commemorate this day in silence. Accompanied by music and, in view of the commemorative event at the Thalia Theatre on YomHaShoa on 24 April, without any accompanying words. More than 150 people came to the Rose Garden, including relatives of the murdered children. We think it was a touching moment, everyone was able to personally commemorate and be a part of this special moment.
A few days earlier, we had already inaugurated the new memorial in the rose garden. This is now a new focal point in the rose garden and a wonderful addition to our memorial site. Pupils and participants laid painted stones and flowers on the memorial and on the memorial stones of the children and adults.
On 23 April, the commemoration of the initiatives in Burgwedel took place again at noon, where pupils from the 4th grade remembered the children. Some of the 10-11 year olds live in the streets named after the children and therefore have a direct connection.
On the evening of 23 April, there was a very special moment in the church of St. Jacobi when Gilad Reichenbaum - nephew of the murdered boy Eduard Reichenbaum - sang a song by and for his father Ytzhak together with Yael Gat and Doron Furman (Folkadu). Ytzhak Reichenbaum survived the Holocaust as a child and Gilad has created a lasting memory of him with his 30-minute film ‘One picture and one song’. The film also provides a gentle insight into the lives of the children of Holocaust survivors and their perspective.
On 24 April, we were able to remember the 20 Jewish children in the packed Thalia Theatre with almost 1000 people. Relatives from the USA, France, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hamburg were present. In conversation with Imgo Zamperoni, First Mayor Dr Peter Tschentscher emphasised the importance of commemorative work for democracy. Contemporary witnesses Andra and Tatiana Bucci shared their memories of their time in the children's camp in Auschwitz and regretted that - apart from their cousin Sergio - they could not remember any of the other children. At the end of the conversation with Ingo Zamperoni, it was moving to see the guests in the hall rise from their chairs in honour of Andra and Tatiana.
The commemorative event was broadcast live by NDR and can be viewed here. We would like to thank everyone who supported us at this event: The Ministry of Culture and Media, the Foundation EVZ, the Thalia Theatre, the NDR, the Italian Cultural Institute Hamburg, the Bertini Prize e.V. and the Week of Remembrance Hamburg-Mitte.
A selection of further media reports:
