© dpa
80 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi extermination camp, politicians, theaters, churches and committed citizens in Berlin are also commemorating the victims of the Holocaust today. There will be memorial services and other events throughout the day.
On January 27, 1945, Soviet soldiers liberated the German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Wehrmacht-occupied Poland. The National Socialists had deported around 1.3 million people to the camp. Around 1.1 million were killed, including around one million European Jews. January 27 has been a national day of remembrance since 1996.
In the morning at 11 a.m., a service in the St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Mitte commemorates the horrors and victims of the Nazi genocide. In the evening at 6 p.m., the Protestant Bishop Christian Stäblein will hold a memorial service in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Stäblein warned in advance that anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism are not a thing of the past. "They are alive, dangerous and frighteningly present in our midst." At the "Augen auf" cinema day, actors such as Jürgen Prochnow dedicate themselves to remembrance. As every year on January 27, the Pankow chain of lights meets at 6 p.m. at the intersection of Berliner Straße and Breite Straße. In the evening, the Berliner Ensemble presents the world premiere of the play "Gestern zwar, doch nicht vergangen".
Berlin's Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner, emphasized: "It is our common duty and our historical heritage to remember the victims of National Socialist terror and the Shoah and to make the surviving witnesses heard. But it is also our responsibility to stand up against all forms of anti-Semitism, because the enemies of democracy must never be louder than those who stand up for peace, freedom and democracy." On January 29, 2025, Wegner will take part in the German Bundestag's commemorative event to mark the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism.