The exhibition commemorates 50 years of the Senate program for those persecuted by the Nazis

The exhibition commemorates 50 years of the Senate program for those persecuted by the Nazis

On September 19, 2025, the upcoming opening of the exhibition “Charter Flight into the Past - 50 Years of the Berlin Senate's Visit Program for Those Persecuted by the Nazis” was announced in the Mitte Museum. This special event will take place on September 26, 2025 at 6 p.m. at Pankstraße 47, 13357 Berlin. On June 10, 1969, the Senate of West Berlin decided to give former Berliners who were driven into exile during National Socialist persecution the opportunity to return to Berlin and visit the city. Over the decades, around 35,000 people took part in this program.

The exhibition, which will be on display until March 15, 2026, will highlight various facets of the program since its inception. The focus is on the biographies of those who found their way to Berlin despite the challenges of the past. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, a special exhibition was developed in 2019 by the Berlin Senate Chancellery and the German Resistance Memorial Center, which continues the basic idea of ​​reparations.

Events and program

Several speakers will speak at the opening of the exhibition, including Stefanie Remlinger, the district mayor, Georg Klußmann, head of protocol for the state of Berlin, and Martina Voigt, the curator of the exhibition. Interested visitors can visit the exhibition from Sunday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Admission is free and prior registration is not required.

In addition to the exhibition, other events will take place in the Mitte Museum. On September 24, 2025, at 6 p.m., a reading and audience discussion will be organized with the journalist Holger Schmale, in which he will talk about the development of Berlin at the time of the Berlin Wall. A book launch is also planned on September 30, 2025, at which Brigitte Landes will present her work "The Disappeared City. In the Tiergartenviertel", which deals with the destruction of the Tiergartenviertel by the Nazi regime.

Culture of remembrance and commemoration of National Socialism

The opening of this exhibition fits into a broader context of German culture of remembrance. In the decades after the war, this established itself as a central element in commemorating the victims of National Socialism. Substantial education about the Holocaust and National Socialist persecution is an integral part of history lessons in German schools. Numerous memorial sites and Nazi documentation centers in Germany, over 300 in number, play a central role in this remembrance.

Remembrance Day for the Victims of National Socialism is celebrated annually on January 27th, a date that commemorates the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Despite the extensive efforts to raise awareness, there are still political currents in society that attempt to discredit or relativize the culture of remembrance. Anti-Semitic attacks have increased in recent years. This is interpreted as an expression of a failure to deal with the past, which is why continued discourse on these topics is of great importance.

For the organizations and initiatives that are committed to remembrance work, the challenge remains to reach and sensitize the younger generation in order to ensure sustainable commemoration of those persecuted by National Socialism. The exhibition in the Mitte Museum is an important step in the right direction to continue this dialogue of remembrance.

For further information, those interested can contact the press office of the Mitte district office at presse@ba-mitte.berlin.de.