80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

 

11 a.m.

Bergen-Belsen POW Cemetery

Music

Daniel Draganov, Violine

Welcome

Hanna Naber, President of the Lower Saxony State Parliament

Address

Oberst Jörg Wiederhold, Commander and Senior Officer of the Military Training Ground Headquarters North

Music

Time for individual remembrance

 

13.30 p.m.

Bergen-Belsen Memorial

Commemoration at the obelisk

 

Music

Shabbaton Choir

 

Welcome

Stephan Weil, Minster President of Lower Saxony

 

Greeting

Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister of the UK

 

Greeting

His Excellency Ron Prosor, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Federal Republic of Germany

 

Music

Shabbaton Choir

 

Commemorative speeches by survivors and children of the DP camp

Mala Tribich, Greet and Robert Coopman, Izabella Sztachelska, Debbie Morag, Menachem Rosensaft

 

Statement

Ingrid Schön and Michel Tischer

 

Recitation of the names of survivors who have died in the past year

 

Wreath-laying and silent commemoration at the inscription wall

 

Commemoration at the high cross

Prayer

Regional Bishop Ralf Meister, Chairman of the Council of the Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony and Bishop Dr Heiner Wilmer, Bishop of Hildesheim

 

Commemoration at the Jewish monument

Music

Shabbaton Choir (Ani Maamin)

Address

Dr Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany

Address

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

El Male Rachamim

Kaddish

Closing music

(Shabbaton Choir)

 

The commemoration ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube from 1:30 p.m. until the ceremony at the Jewish monument is over. The livestream will feature the original audio, there will be no interpretation. After the event, a video in German and English will be available on YouTube.

 

Other Events

 

Tuesday, 15 April, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Curated tour of the grounds on the topic of ‘liberation’

 

Tuesday, 15 April, 7 p.m.

Lights on the tracks

Event organized by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bergen-Belsen

 

17 April to 4 Mai 2025

Exhibition "Indelible" with photos from Debbie Morag

Location: Bergen-Belsen Memorial

 

Saturday, 26 April, 3 p.m.

Commemorative event with Leonard Lewin

Event organized by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bergen-Belsen

Location: Bergen-Belsen, ramp

 

Thursday, 1 May

Discussion of the poetry collection "Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai after Auschwitz" with the author, Menachem Rosensaft

Location: Hanover, Kirchentag (Market of Opportunities)

 

28 March to 1 June

Exhibition ‘“Save one life...”: Life stories of children from the “Lost Transport”’

Location: Bomann Museum, Celle

 

 

 

Directions

There will be no free parking spaces at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial on the day of the event. For this reason, a free Park & Ride car park has been set up at the Bergen-Hohne military training area. From 9:30 a.m., you can use a shuttle service from there to the Bergen-Belsen Memorial and the Hörsten Prisoner of War Cemetery. The shuttle bus will take you back to the park & ride car park after the event.

You can reach the park & ride car park by entering “PzWaschAnl Hörsten” as your destination in Google Maps. Please note that the connecting road (L298), which passes directly by the Bergen Belsen Memorial, will be closed due to the commemoration event. Traffic will be diverted.

Seating

Unfortunately, all available seats have already been reserved and we can only offer standing room.

 

Safety instructions

Please refrain from bringing bags and backpacks larger than A4 paper size and glass bottles. We also ask you not to bring loudspeakers, boxes or other sound amplification equipment. Carrying dangerous items (e.g. weapons) is not permitted.

We also ask you to refrain from displaying symbols, political slogans and other items that do not uphold the dignity of the event and the venue. In case of doubt, we reserve the right to exercise our domiciliary rights and exclude persons from the event and the premises.

 

Reservation of admission

The organisers reserve the right to exercise their domiciliary rights and to refuse admission to or exclude from the event and the premises any persons who belong to right-wing extremist parties or organisations or who make or have made anti-Semitic, anti-democratic, history-denying, nationalistic, racist or other inhuman statements, display such attitudes or wear visible symbols.

 

Catering

On the day of the event, food and drinks will only be available for guest groups under our supervision. Due to the significantly higher number of visitors on that day, we cannot guarantee food and drinks for all other visitors. Please take this into account when planning your visit.

 

Headgear and kippot

We ask all men among our guests to wear headgear when attending the commemoration ceremony. In addition to the traditional kippa, caps and hats are also permitted. Unfortunately, we only have a limited number of kippot available for guests on site.

 

Data protection

The event will be documented on film and in photographs.