Commemoration of the death march through Jena with the dedication of a stele in memory of the forced labor camp

Speech by the Lord Mayor

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A warm welcome to all guests at this year's commemoration of the victims of the death march that led through Jena on April 11, 1945.

I would like to welcome Prof. Dr. Jens-Christian Wagner, Director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials.

Dear Prof. Dr. Wagner, welcome, it's great that you are here again today!

Dear Dr. Rug, dear Mr. Nauschütz, dear members of the Working Group Speaking Past. You have made a significant contribution to ensuring that the death march through Jena and numerous other Nazi crimes in our city are not forgotten. A warm welcome to you!

Dear Bastian Stein, district mayor here in Wenigenjena (his presence is still subject to change!), dear Daniela Gruber, dear members of the local district council - welcome!

Dear guests,

At this point, I would also have liked to welcome the descendants of Robert Büchler, survivor of the death march. Unfortunately, you were unable to come from Israel because of the war in Iran. You would have very, very much liked to be here, as you were last year when we named this street the Robert Büchler Way. But unfortunately it was not possible.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased that the commemoration on and around April 11 has become a fixed part of our municipal calendar. Five years ago, on the initiative of the working group, the first stele commemorating the death march was unveiled at Camsdorf Bridge.

In 2022, the newly renovated gravesite for the victims of the death march in Jena was dedicated at the East Cemetery. 2023 saw the dedication of the stele on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, which commemorates Robert Büchler in particular, and the naming of this street last year, both with Robert Büchler's children and grandchildren.

There is also a special event today with the inauguration of another stele at this location. This stele commemorates the forced labor camp on the sports grounds here and was initiated by Daniela Gruber, who will also be speaking later, and the Wenigenjena district council.

Ladies and gentlemen,

For some time now, we have been increasingly concerned with the question of how the memory and commemoration of the crimes of National Socialism can be kept alive if there are no witnesses of those times left alive in the foreseeable future.

Yesterday evening, Robert Büchler's memoirs, which are now available as a book in German, were presented to the public in the town hall.

In it, he tells of his sheltered childhood and youth in Topol'čany (pronounced Topoltschani) in Slovakia. He tells of the gradual onset of discrimination and marginalization because he and his family were Jewish, and the eventual deportation to Auschwitz, which he was the only one of his family to survive.

Remembering and commemorating is not only about not forgetting the events that took place over 80 years ago, but also about keeping the knowledge of them alive. Only if it touches us as human beings and thus remains an effective reminder can it be effective in ensuring that crimes such as those committed during the National Socialist era are not repeated.

Robert Büchler's memoirs are particularly valuable here because they are a reminder to us that the violation of human dignity always has the potential to discriminate and marginalize even more. The transitions to crime are then fluid and multifaceted. We must be vigilant against this and take action.

The death march through Jena was the last major Nazi crime in this city. The following day, Jena was liberated by the Americans. For Robert Büchler, the death march through Jena was a horrific event, as it was for thousands of other prisoners. His liberation a few kilometers from here and his return to our city in 1945, especially in the later years of his life, were and are a stroke of luck for our city.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As already mentioned, we will be handing over another information stele to the public here today. But first, Prof. Wagner will talk about forced labor under the Nazi regime as a whole.

Then we will hear the Dirk Wasmund Trio once again, before Luca Nauschütz from the Working Group Speaking Past will read from the aforementioned memoirs of Robert Büchler and his connection to this place.

Daniela Gruber then tells us about the local forced labor camp and introduces us to the new stele before we unveil it together.