Events

Dear Friends of the Ravensbrück Memorial,

We warmly invite you to join us for our event on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism on January 27, 2025. At Ravensbrück, it has become a tradition for friends and supporters of the memorial to come together for a participatory reading. This year, we dedicate the reading to the memories and personal testimonies of prisoners and survivors reflecting on the end of the war, liberation, and their return to life in 1945.

In 1945, several thousand people died in the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. They perished from exhaustion, disease, or were deliberately murdered, including at the Uckermark camp. Yet 1945 is also the year of liberation. Some were taken to Denmark or Sweden by the Red Cross, while others were forced on death marches—sometimes multiple times—escaped along the way, or encountered Allied forces in subcamps. Only a few were liberated directly at Ravensbrück. For all, the journey back—to an old or entirely new life—was a long one.

During the reading, we will explore the memories of these women and men: How did they experience liberation? How did they manage to survive? And how did they, surrounded by death, find the desire to live, as Wanda Półtawska once wrote? The reading will take place in German, with brief passages in French and English.

We would be delighted if you would like to participate—either as a returning or first-time contributor—and kindly ask you to confirm your participation by January 20, 2025 (contact Ingrid Bettwieser at bettwieser@ravensbrueck.de) so that we can provide you with the text.

We look forward to your participation and your visit.

Venue

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