Commemoration of the death march through Jena in 1945

In the afternoon of April 11, 1945, around 4,000 maltreated people were driven through Jena on the last death march of prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp. An estimated 250 prisoners died on the way. Fourteen of those murdered were buried anonymously in Jena's Ostfriedhof cemetery.

The "Speaking Past" working group has researched this dark chapter of Jena's history in the past. Now the gravesite at the Ostfriedhof cemetery has been redesigned and the inscription on the gravestone has been renewed to make it clear that these people did not simply perish, but were brutally murdered.

On behalf of the City of Jena, Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche cordially invites you to the inauguration of the redesigned gravesite and to commemorate the death march through Jena 77 years ago:

Monday, April 11, 2022, 11:30 a.m.
Gravesite at the East Cemetery Jena
(Finkenweg, past the ceremonial hall on the right, up the stairs, then approx. 50 m on the right)

Speeches by Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, District Mayor Rosa Maria Haschke and Dr. Harry Stein, Curator of the Buchenwald Memorial.

The commemoration will be accompanied by music from the Dirk Wasmund Trio.