Events

Dear Friends of the Ravensbrück Memorial Site,

We warmly invite you to join us for our event on January 27, 2025, marking the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism. At Ravensbrück, it has become a tradition for friends of the memorial site to gather for a collective reading. This year, the reading will focus on the memories and personal testimonies of prisoners and survivors concerning the end of the war, liberation, and the return to life in 1945.

In 1945, several thousand people died in the Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp. They succumbed to exhaustion, disease, or were deliberately murdered, including in Uckermark. 1945 is also the year of liberation. While some were taken to Denmark or Sweden by the Red Cross, others were forced onto death marches, some multiple times, managed to escape along the way, or encountered Allied forces in subcamps. A few were liberated directly in Ravensbrück. Each embarked on a long journey back—back to an old or entirely new life.

During the reading, we will explore the memories of these women and men: Who experienced liberation, and how? How did they manage to survive? And how were they able, surrounded by death, to rediscover a desire for life, as Wanda Półtawska described? The reading will be held in German, with brief excerpts in French and English.

We would be delighted if you would like to actively participate in this year’s reading. Please let us know by January 25, 2025, by sending a reply to this email address: bettwieseraravensbrueckode, so we can send you the text. To take part, you will need a PC, laptop, or smartphone with a stable internet connection, a camera, and a microphone.

By participating, you consent to the livestream of the reading on YouTube.

We look forward to your participation.

Venue

The participatory reading will take place in the event hall of the Ravensbrück Memorial and Museum.