Honorary citizen Justin Sonder
A "bench for Justin Sonder"
The International Auschwitz Committee and the City of Chemnitz would like to commemorate Justin Sonder, an honorary citizen of Chemnitz, in his home town. A sculpture depicting Justin Sonder sitting on a bench was erected on the Brühl on 9 November 2024. It is intended to invite people to sit down and engage in thoughtful dialogue with him.
In addition to Lord Mayor Sven Schulze and Christoph Heubner, Chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee, former German President Christian Wulff, Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and numerous members of Justin Sonder's family also took part in the inauguration ceremony.
Many people from Chemnitz also attended the inauguration of the sculpture.
Film project on the life of Justin Sonder
The miniseries comprises three short films that take a closer look at the life of Justin Sonder. They include interview material that was recorded in 2017 as part of the film project "Children at War". Companions, such as Justin Sonder's daughter, friends and historians have their say. The films were produced by the Chemnitz-based production company Red Tower Films.
The project is co-financed with taxpayers' money on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.
Justin Sonder - Auschwitz survivor
Honorary citizenship awarded on 21.04.2017
Justin Sonder was born on 18 October 1925 in Chemnitz, the son of a housewife and a merchant and wine salesman. He was confronted with growing anti-Semitism as a child and experienced the pogrom night in Chemnitz on 9 November 1938. He later learned the trade of cook and was forced to work in an armaments factory in Chemnitz from autumn 1941 to February 1943. On 27 February 1943, Justin Sonder was arrested and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. There he survived unimaginable conditions, hunger, beatings, forced labour and a total of 17 selections. After several death marches, Justin Sonder finally reached Wetterfeld in Franconia in April 1945, where he was liberated by the American army on 23 April 1945. On 19 June 1945, Justin Sonder and his father returned to his home town, where he had lived ever since.
Justin Sonder was awarded the Chemnitz Peace Prize in 2008. When Christian Wulff was the first German President to speak in Auschwitz in January 2011, Justin Sonder was one of the members of his delegation. In 2015, Justin Sonder received the Medal of Honour from the International Auschwitz Committee. This made the Chemnitz native one of around 400 people worldwide to be honoured in this way. The honour is awarded to survivors who did not withdraw into silence after their time in the concentration camp, but instead raised their voices to carry out educational and preventative work.
Justin Sonder was a sought-after dialogue partner who was invited by schools and associations. He told his audience about the darkest times in German history. In doing so, he made a valuable and invaluable contribution to the culture of remembrance and commemoration.
Since 1997, Justin Sonder has organised more than 500 events with thousands of schoolchildren. In his speeches, Justin Sonder told of horrific experiences, but also mentioned how a master butcher, butter merchant and hairdresser from Chemnitz helped him. Despite the suffering he had endured, he had not lost his humanity. He taught pupils to see the light in the shadows and to recognise alternative courses of action. With his lectures about his time in Auschwitz, he brought history to life and made it tangible. His message to the younger generation was all the more impressive: the following generations, for whom peace and democracy always seemed to be a matter of course, must ensure time and again that a crime against humanity like that of National Socialism cannot be repeated.
At the age of 90, Justin Sonder travelled to Detmold at the beginning of 2016 to testify against a former guard at the extermination camp in what was possibly the last major Auschwitz trial, in which he also appeared as a joint plaintiff. With his testimony, he helped to ensure late justice.
The city of Chemnitz awarded Justin Sonder honorary citizenship at a ceremony on 21 April 2017 in recognition of his tireless commitment as one of the few Auschwitz survivors and one of the last contemporary witnesses to keep alive the memory of the atrocities committed by the National Socialist regime.
Justin Sonder died on 3 November 2020 at the age of 95.
Interview with Justin Sonder
"Peace should reign in this city"
He has told his life story many times. For 30 years, Justin Sonder has been going into schools and recounting the worst days of his life in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
As one of the few Auschwitz survivors, he is fighting against oblivion. Two books document his experiences.
He was "Maker of the Week" when he was awarded honorary citizenship: