History - Contradictory statements about memorial site Zeithain
The SPD politician Frank Richter stated that the History and Nature Education Path of the Ehrenhain Zeithain Memorial is facing closure, as the 500,000 Euro allocated for the project by the Landtag have been reassigned to other projects of the Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation. Richter expressed his concern as a "disaster of remembrance politics."
The Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation disputed this statement. "The History and Nature Education Path project of the Ehrenhain Zeithain Memorial is not coming to an end. It has been one of the most significant cultural remembrance projects of the Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation, particularly for the Ehrenhain Zeithain Memorial, of overriding importance," said Managing Director Markus Pieper.
Foundation: No End to the Learning Path
According to the Foundation, there were delays in the project's execution. It is not possible to complete the project by the end of 2025, the deadline for the use of the allocated funds. "This commitment was the necessary prerequisite for the submission of the application no later than April 30, 2024, which could not be met. This is deeply regrettable for the Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation, but it does not mean the end of the Learning Path."
The Learning Path will now have to be implemented using the Foundation's own budget and, if necessary, in an alternative form.
The Memorial in Zeithain near Riesa commemorates the victims of the Wehrmacht's prisoner-of-war camp between 1941 and 1945. It was established before Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. Starting in October 1943, prisoners from Italy, Serbia, Britain, France, and Poland were also brought to the camp. According to the Memorial, approximately 25,000 to 30,000 Soviet prisoners and over 900 prisoners from other countries died in Zeithain. Causes included poor nutrition and catastrophic hygienic conditions.
The victims are buried in four cemeteries near the former camp grounds at Jacobsthal Railway Station. The history of the Zeithain prisoner-of-war camp is presented in a permanent exhibition. Every year on April 23 – the day of the camp's liberation by the Red Army – people from various countries gather in Zeithain to remember the suffering of the prisoners and honor the victims.
"The implementation of the planned History and Nature Education Path would have been suitable for raising the quality of remembrance to a new level. It was intended as a sign of appropriate recognition that the relatives of the victims deserve and we owe to ourselves today. A great opportunity was missed," said Richter.
- Despite SPD politician Frank Richter's concerns, Markus Pieper, the Managing Director of the Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation, asserted that the History and Nature Education Path project at the Ehrenhain Zeithain Memorial is not being terminated.
- The Sächsische Gedenkstätten Foundation attributed the delays in the project's execution as the reason for not completing it by the end of 2025, the deadline for the use of the allocated funds.
- Frank Richter expressed disappointment over the missed opportunity, stating that the planned History and Nature Education Path could have significantly elevated the level of remembrance, serving as an appropriate recognition for the victims' relatives and a duty towards ourselves today.
- Saxony's Ehrenhain Zeithain Memorial, commemorating victims of a Wehrmacht prisoner-of-war camp, is a significant site of cultural memory, with thousands of Soviet and international prisoners having perished due to poor conditions.
