Overview

• Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to address a commemoration at the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial, joined by survivors and international guests.
• Main ceremonies at Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück on Sunday will feature speeches by Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, Brandenburg Minister President Dietmar Woidke, and Culture Commissioner Claudia Roth.
• Memorial leaders and historians highlight the importance of combating historical revisionism and preserving survivor testimonies as the survivor generation dwindles.
• Germany’s Foreign Office advised excluding Russian representatives from the events to prevent potential political misuse connected to the war in Ukraine.
• The commemorations focus on the liberation of individuals and the lessons of history, with calls to safeguard democratic values against rising extremism.