50 years of remembrance: Exhibition about those persecuted by the Nazis in the Mitte Museum

50 years of remembrance: Exhibition about those persecuted by the Nazis in the Mitte Museum

On Monday, September 26, 2025, the exhibition “Charter Flight into the Past – 50 Years of the Berlin Senate’s Visit Program for Those Persecuted by the Nazis” opened in the Mitte Museum. This important exhibition honors the invitation policy of the West Berlin Senate, which has existed since June 10, 1969 and was aimed at bringing persecuted fellow citizens who had emigrated from the city back to Berlin. Over the past fifty years, approximately 35,000 people, many from Jewish families, have participated in this program to visit the city of their memory.

The initiators of this event are convinced that the return of these people is a central part of reparation. In doing so, the Senate not only focused on the historical context of the Second World War and the Shoah, but also continued the basic idea of ​​reconstruction work in post-war Berlin. Political representatives such as Stefanie Remlinger, the district mayor of Berlin-Mitte, and Georg Klußmann, head of protocol for the state of Berlin, spoke at the opening, complemented by curator Martina Voigt, who illuminated the various facets of the program over time.

Event details and other activities

The exhibition is open to the public from September 28, 2025 to March 15, 2026. Visitors can view the exhibition free of charge, without prior registration. The opening times are from Sunday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition to the exhibition, numerous accompanying events will take place, such as the reading and public discussion “The Chausseestraße at the time of the Berlin Wall” on September 24, 2025, at which journalist Holger Schmale would like to talk to interested citizens about the city's history.

Brigitte Landes's book launch is scheduled for September 30, 2025, in which she reports on the former residents of the Tiergartenviertel and their fates during the Nazi era. These events take place in the light of an increasing debate about the culture of remembrance in Germany, which is based on the horrors of National Socialism and also emphasizes the examination of the consequences for today's generations.

The role of the culture of remembrance

This exhibition and the associated events come at a time when Germany recognizes the need to continually engage with its own history. The Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism, which is celebrated on January 27th, is a central element of the German culture of remembrance. Schools incorporate Nazism into their curriculum, and there are over 300 memorials and documentation centers across the country. Nevertheless, the culture of remembrance also faces challenges, in particular from growing anti-Semitism and the threat to memorial sites through vandalism and Holocaust denial.

In view of this situation, personalities such as Michel Friedman emphasize that the confrontation must not only be a ritualized act, but must also pursue the goal of taking responsibility for the living descendants of the victims. Discourses clearly show that there are numerous different cultures of remembrance in Germany that need to be taken into account.

The Mitte Museum and the accompanying program therefore offer an important platform not only to commemorate, but also to conduct an active dialogue about the historical responsibility and the role of each generation in this history. The press office of the Mitte district office is available for media inquiries.

For further information about the exhibition and events, please visit the Mitte District Office website here.

Further details can also be found on the Centrum Judaicum website here and on the DW website here.