Commemoration on November 9th

A remembrance ceremony is held each year to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938. In the Altstadtkirche church, young people from local secondary schools perform readings and play music to recall the terrible acts of Kristallnacht, and the crimes committed by the Nazis against our Jewish neighbors and opponents of the regime.

Mehrere Menschen stellen in der Dunkelheit brennende Kerzen auf den Boden — November 2015: after the remembrance ceremony marking some 77 years since Kristallnacht, candles were placed at the Kradepohl memorial. Photo: Thomas Spekowius

November 2015: after the remembrance ceremony marking some 77 years since Kristallnacht, candles were placed at the Kradepohl memorial. Photo: Thomas Spekowius

One key element of the remembrance ceremony is the Mayor’s speech, which closes with an invitation for guests to observe a minute’s silence at the Kradepohl memorial. There, the participants place candles at the memorial. The light of the candles on a November night is a reminder of the dead and stands for the hope that such dark times will never return.

"If we do not want people to be disenfranchised, people born equal to be made unequal, then it is up to each one of us to oppose discrimination of all kinds, every day and no matter how small; not to allow people to be discriminated against or insulted because of where they are from, their religion, sexual orientation or appearance. Days like today invite us to think about this." (Mayor Daniel Zimmermann, 2018)

Joint remembrance with the Israeli twin town of Tirat Carmel

A special remembrance ceremony was held to mark the 80^th anniversary of Kristallnacht in 2018. Young people from our Israeli twin town of Tirat Carmel and from Monheim am Rhein prepared a joint theater production on the subject of pogroms and persecution, which they performed in the Altstadtkirche.

Watch the Video in Hebrew: [extern] טירת כרמל ומונהיים על הריין מאוחדות בזיכרון

Frequently searched