Germany commemorates liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp
A ceremony was held at the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial site to commemorate the victims of the National Socialist concentration camp and the camp’s liberation on 11 April 1945.
Weimar (dpa/d.de) – An event was held on Sunday to mark the 81st anniversary of the liberation of theBuchenwald concentration camp, and to commemorate the victims of the NS terror regime. The actor and entertainer Hape Kerkeling delivered the keynote speech. He has a personal connection to Buchenwald, as his grandfather was imprisoned there in 1942, after handing out anti-Hitler leaflets. “He was tortured and humiliated, and he witnessed countless murders here at Buchenwald. It is a miracle that he survived this madness,” Kerkeling said. He called for continued commemoration and active responsibility.
It was the first time in decades that there was no survivor among the ceremony’s speakers. This was due to restrictions on air traffic from Israel. Two former prisoners did attend the event, but did not give speeches: 98-year-old Alojzy Maciak from Poland and 99-year-old Andrej Moiseenko from Belarus.
Things got noisy during Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer’s speech: two Buchenwald associations had objected to his attendance and had accused him of a lack of compassion for concentration camp survivors. Weimer did not respond to the heckling. “The day was all about dignity and remembering the liberation,” he said.
In addition, radical left-wing and pro-Palestinian activists from the Kufiyas in Buchenwald group had called for protest. However, no incidents occurred during the memorial event itself.
