80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Prisoners from the Neuengamme Concentration Camp
The commemorative events in Hamburg marking the end of the war and the liberation of the concentration camps began on the morning of 3 May in Neustadt with a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the bombing of the concentration camp ships in Neustadt Bay and boat trips for descendants of former prisoners and interested members of the public to the sites where the ships sank.
On 3 May, we commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the war and the liberation of the concentration camps in a large commemorative ceremony, with a moving speech by Helga Melmed, who survived the Neuengamme, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, thoughtful words from Martine Letterie, President of the Amicale Internationale KZ Neuengamme, and greetings from Federal Chancellor Scholz, First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and the director of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, Oliver von Wrochem, at the former brickworks of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. The commemorative event was accompanied by music from the Förderverein Jugend musiziert. Among the approximately 1,000 guests were delegations from member associations of the Amicale Internationale KZ Neuengamme and other relatives of former prisoners of the Neuengamme concentration camp from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine and the USA.
Programme (pdf)
Speeches (pdf)
Speech Chancellor Scholz
Speech First Mayor Tschentscher
The next day, the Day of Diverse Remembrance took place at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, and we are both overwhelmed and grateful that so many relatives from Germany and abroad, committed individuals, initiatives and interested parties came to the Memorial site. Large banners in the brickworks and a video stele actively incorporated the voices of survivors into the commemoration with quotes, other materials and more. We remember – #GeradeJetzt! (#EspeciallyNow!) This was also done in the form of a pop-up exhibition about the White Buses.
Martine Letterie, President of the Amicale Internationale KZ Neuengamme, Iryna Tybinka, Consul General of Ukraine, and Vincent de Kom, relative of former prisoner Anton de Kom from Suriname, spoke at the ceremony to unveil the new memorial plaque at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. The memorial plaque includes a website where the names of the countries can be heard: internationales-mahnmal.de
The presentation of the posters at the ‘Ort der Verbundenheit’ (A Space to Remember) was a moving and powerful event, with speeches by Jean Mathia, great-nephew of Emile Matter, a former concentration camp prisoner from Alsace, and Michael Raveh, son of Karla Raveh, a former German-Jewish concentration camp prisoner. The commemoration ceremony was accompanied by music from the Medical Voices gospel choir. Afterwards, the newly printed posters were put up on the poster wall at the ‘Ort der Verbundenheit’ by the family members.
Throughout the day, people read, recited, sang, presented and talked to each other in the “Tent of Diverse Remembrance”, highlighting the Diversity of Remembrance. We would like to thank all visitors and participating projects and initiatives for their discussions, interest and contributions, which helped make the day a great success! Programme (pdf)
Further commemorative events took place at the International Memorial: commemoration of 42 Alsatian officers who refused to be forcibly recruited into the Waffen-SS and were subsequently deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp; commemoration of the 100 men from Murat/France who were deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp as part of a so-called retaliatory action. The day concluded with a memorial event for the homosexual prisoners of the Neuengamme concentration camp, organised by the initiative Gemeinsam gegen das Vergessen (Together Against Forgetting) – Stolpersteine für homosexuelle NS-Opfer (Stumbling Stones for Homosexual Victims of National Socialism), Queer History Month and mhc Hamburg.
Finally, on Monday, school classes at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial took the opportunity to talk to Michael Raveh and Victora Toth, relatives of former prisoners, and in the evening, moderated by Ulrike Jensen, the KörberForum Bergedorf hosted a intergenerational talk with Helga Melmed, her daughter and her grandson, who spoke to a large and interested audience about passing on memories within the family.
Reports
NDR Hamburg Journal: Bewegende Gedenkfeier im ehemaligen KZ Neuengamme
NDR Hamburg Journal: Eine Überlebende erinnert sich
NDR Livestream: Livestream
SAT1: 80 Jahre Befreiung des KZ Neuengamme
Mopo: 80 Jahre Kriegsende in Hamburg. Bewegende Worte und der letzte Auftritt des Kanzlers NDR Nord: Kurz vor Kriegsende: Bomben treffen Cap Arcona
Taz: Die Bombardierung war ein tragisches Versagen
