- HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian takes part in commemoration event in Poland
- Wreath-laying and minute’s silence for the victims of forced labor, persecution and racial hatred under National Socialism
- Exhibition “Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Photographs and poems on the Shoa” can be viewed until the end of April
- Ensembles of the Israeli National Arts High School, Tel Aviv, perform tomorrow at Wolfsburg CongressPark
The photo shows HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian (on the right by the memorial stone) and the chairman of the Group Works Council, Bernd Osterloh (on the left by the memorial stone).
Holocaust Remembrance Day - Volkswagen remembers the victims of National Socialism and the liberation of Auschwitz 75 years ago
Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Volkswagen remembered the millions of people who were deported, consigned to forced labor, persecuted and murdered during the National Socialist dictatorship. At the invitation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian took part in the international commemoration event in Poland together with Christoph Heubner, Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Guests attending the commemoration events at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg included Sharon Nazarian, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President, International Affairs of the US human rights organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from New York, and Rabbi Dr. Yakov Yosef Harety from the Jewish Orthodox community in Wolfsburg.
In the morning, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian and Group Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh laid wreaths together with employees and remembered the victims of National Socialism.
In the afternoon, other employees laid white roses on the memorial stone for the victims of forced labor together with committed members of the public and commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp by the Red Army of the Soviet Union 75 years ago with a minute’s silence.
Following the ceremony, Dieter Landenberger, Head of Heritage, opened the exhibition of Dr. Karl Teille “Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Photographs and poems on the Shoa.” The exhibition consists of large artistic photographs combined with poems written by Holocaust victims. The poems were read by Bernd Upadek of the Scharoun Theater, with musical accompaniment by the string quartet of the Philharmonic Volkswagen Orchestra. The exhibition can be viewed in the Volkswagen Corporate Archive forum until the end of April 2020. Those who are interested should register by sending an email to history@volkswagen.de an.
Free-of-charge concert: Israeli National Arts High School, Tel Aviv, at Congress Park Wolfsburg
On Tuesday, January 28 at 4:30 p.m. two ensembles from the Israeli National Arts High School, Tel Aviv, will be playing at the Wolfsburg Congress Park. Entry to this unique concert on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is free of charge. Tickets are available at the event.
More than 100 musicians will perform music highlighting the present and future of the Jewish people. Their repertoire ranges from baroque music to contemporary pieces. The ensembles of the Israeli National Arts High School “Thelma Yellin” have already played on concert tours at musical centers such as the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and the UNESCO House in Paris as well as at concert halls in Germany and the United Kingdom
The concert is being held by the city of Wolfsburg in cooperation with Volkswagen. For many years, the city and the company have been committed to remembrance of the atrocities of Auschwitz. The city of Wolfsburg and Volkswagen maintain close contacts with Holocaust survivors within the International Auschwitz Committee. They share a commitment to winning over young people for the conservation of the Auschwitz Memorial Site, encounters with survivors and the protection of democracy. The city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen Group are characterized by cultural diversity and the coexistence of many nations. The concert is being held with the support of the State Association of Jewish Communities in Lower Saxony (Landesverband der Jüdischen Gemeinden von Niedersachsen).
Note: A report on the exhibition “Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Photographs and poems on the Shoa” and the latest photos are available for downloading from.www.volkswagen-newsroom.com.
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