Speech at the commemorative event: End of the Second World War 80 years ago on 8 May 2025

Dear friends from our twin cities

Dear representatives of the consulates and embassies

Dear Mr Dierks, President of the State Parliament

Honourable members of the Saxon State Parliament, dear members of the Chemnitz City Council,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear people of Chemnitz,

I would like to welcome you all to this commemorative event to mark 8 May - one of the most significant days in our history. It is the day on which the Second World War came to an end in Europe, the day on which the National Socialist regime of injustice finally capitulated.

Today, 80 years on, we are not just commemorating a historic event - we are remembering the millions of victims of the Second World War, of tyranny and persecution. We commemorate the victims of the Shoah.

And we honour all those who contributed to liberation. The fact that representatives of our allies in the war against Nazi Germany are with us in Chemnitz today is a special sign - a sign of reconciliation, responsibility and the common will to preserve peace. Thank you to the representatives of the American, British, French and Soviet peoples who are here today and who will also be speaking to you. It is important for us to honour the achievements and sacrifices of the respective peoples in equal measure. It was not the governments that endured the suffering - it was the people who had to live with pain, loss and deprivation. Then as now.

Especially in times like these, when war is once again raging in Europe, when people are dying, cities are burning and words such as "displacement" and "flight" have once again become a bitter reality, we recognise that peace can never be taken for granted: Peace can never be taken for granted. The horrors of the past can repeat themselves - if we forget, if we look away, if we stop standing up for ourselves.

That is why this day, this place, this commemoration is so important today.

In our city, one name has a lasting significance for this remembrance like no other: Justin Sonder. Born here in Chemnitz in 1925, he survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and the death marches in the spring of 1945 and was liberated on 23 April - a date he himself called "his second birthday". He returned to his home town and made it his life's work to bear witness to what he had experienced and suffered: in schools, at events and in personal conversations.

Over 500 encounters with young people have been documented - his aim was never to apportion blame, but to shed light on the situation. He asked questions such as: What have I achieved? And: What can you do to ensure that this never happens again?

And Justin Sonder is also present on the Brühl: he sits on this bronze bench made of shell limestone - not in the centre, not elevated, but next to an open space. There, people can sit with him, reflect, enter into dialogue - with history, with themselves, with what they have experienced.

These forms of remembrance - quiet, open, inviting - are typical of Chemnitz. We want to remember with open hearts and open questions.

And we want to help ensure that people never again believe that they are superior to others [solely] because of their ancestry. That is why our town twinning programmes are an essential part of this culture of remembrance. Relationships with our twin towns thrive on interaction. From joint projects, from youth encounters, from culture and business, from mutual learning.

We are currently exchanging ideas with our friends from our twin towns. The twin city conference is taking place in Chemnitz until tomorrow.

We can learn from them how reconciliation can succeed. How to work with memory without dwelling on the past. And how to build bridges - across borders, across divides, across generations.

It is precisely these bridges that we need in Chemnitz. In a city that is the European Capital of Culture 2025, that is open to diversity, to change, to debate. A city that does not forget, but takes responsibility.



Our democracy is not a gift, but a task. 8 May reminds us that peace, freedom and human dignity were fought for - and that we must defend them together.

I would like to thank everyone who is here today. I thank the representatives of the Allies for their presence - as friends, as partners, as fellow campaigners for a better future. And I thank all those who keep the memory of Justin Sonder alive - be it through a picture, a film, a school lesson or simply a quiet conversation on the bench at Brühl.

Many thanks to the Chemnitz Theatre Ballet, to the Mejo Quartet of the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra and to the pupils of the Agricola-Gymnasium Chemnitz and the Görres-Gymnasium Düsseldorf for their cultural contributions.


May this 8 May be a day of remembrance, commemoration and hope.


Thank you very much for coming.


(The spoken word prevails.)