Remembering Those Deported from the Train Station Hannoversche Bahnhof

Lohsepark is located on the site where the Hannoversche Bahnhof once stood. Jews, Sinti and Roma from northern Germany were deported here in trains heading toward Belzec, Lodz, Minsk, Riga, Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. On the occasion of the opening of Lohsepark on Saturday and Sunday, tours were offered of the memorial site denk.mal Hannoverscher Bahnhof, which is still under construction.

The denk.mal Hannoverscher Bahnhof memorial will consist of three main elements. One is the so-called Fault Line, or "Fuge" in German, which was officially opened to visitors on 9 July. This walled walkway follows the path of the original train tracks. The second part is the central memorial site, which will be finished in spring 2017 in the eastern part of Lohsepark, next to the remnants of Platform 2 of the railway station. Finally, an information and documentation centre will be built in the western part of the park. The centre will house an exhibition called In den Tod geschickt (Sent to Their Deaths), designed by the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. Parts of this exhibition can currently be viewed in the information pavilion at Lohseplatz.

The opening events also included a programme dedicated to the theme of remembrance. This included tours as well as other events held on the Lohseplatz stage. There were talks about the history of the site, "500 trees and a memorial", refugees & integration, and remembrance today. There were also theatre performances on Sunday. To top it all off, a variety of musicians played on the park's many stages, including at Lohseplatz, throughout the entire two-day event.