Today is a moving date:

on the night of the 9th to the 10th of November 1938, synagogues, restaurants, hotels and many other Jewish establishments were set on fire in Germany - also in Düsseldorf.

It was the start of the ruthless destruction of Jewish life - clearly symbolised by the burning synagogue in Düsseldorf - Jewish life was no longer to have a place in the midst of Düsseldorf society. Too many remained silent that night and failed to stand up to the brown mob - instead, the Düsseldorf fire brigade was instructed not to extinguish the fire that night ...

What was destroyed then - has not been rebuilt on this site!

For many years there was a temporary solution here. Later, two memorial stones were placed at this site to commemorate the atrocities. The community, which had shrunk to 57 people, some of whom had only survived the Shoah and persecution under very adverse circumstances, reunited and met in September 1945 - on a makeshift basis - to pray in the large courtroom of the Higher Regional Court.

Today, the community has more than 7,000 members - however, the original site here in Kasernenstraße cannot do justice to the significance of Jewish life. Which is why the artistic project missing link_ seeks to create a worthy place of remembrance and commemoration.

missing link_ cannot release us from our responsibility. It is up to us to accomplish this feat. It is a task for society as a whole and for the municipal community! That is why this memorial, this place of remembrance, is not only reserved for the Jewish citizens, it is incumbent on all of us not to forget this part of history!

As an artist, it is a great privilege to have the trust of the Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller and his team in the Culture Department - Miriam Koch, Angelique Tracik and Nicolas Grosch - and the Jewish community - Orded Horowitz and Bert Roemgens, who were enthusiastic about this project right from the start.

Their contribution was decisive in enabling us to hand over this project to the public today.

We are also actively interested in this place being recognised as a place of learning, which is why we have also discussed a collaboration with the director of the Albert Einstein Gymnasium Michael Anger and the class teacher Isabel Cranz, which will enable us to work on an inter-school project with the pupils of class 10B.

We wish to support and further develop these aspects of collective learning and teaching with a webapp. Without the specialist knowledge and municipal memory of the memorial centre in Düsseldorf - namely Bastian Fleermann and Hildegard Jakobs - this would not have been possible. It is intended to provide information about Jewish life, past and present, that goes far beyond this particular location.

Building on these two elements, we wish to work together with everyone to support a future which is characterised by peaceful social relations in Düsseldorf and elsewhere.

Social relations that are founded on respect and appreciation for and with one another. The unfamiliar should not repel us or, even worse, provoke aggression. Instead, our interactions with people should be characterised by curiosity and interest....

All these thoughts and ideas came about long before 7 October 2023. That day changed the situation: our endeavours and efforts to achieve peaceful coexistence of all faiths, of all people, to unite in one thought of people for people, seem more urgent than ever.

Let us all please join hands in peace at this time.

Let us create a bond of solidarity, understanding and affection, yes of love, in the broader human sense, and let us form a ring of protection for the energy needed to stabilise democratic developments in our society.

My wish is that we go forth now - with respect and in remembrance of those who cannot share this moment - and of the people whose future is still uncertain and in danger at this time.

Navid Kermani, the writer and thinker of our time, recently said:

Everyone, Wherever You Are, 

Come One Step Closer!

We humans come into this world incomplete, that is a fate we share with all people. But we have the power and the opportunity to make something of it - let this power of creation grow and outshine the barbarism ...

The friends and patrons of Düsseldorf’s cultural institutes have issued an appeal:

NEVER AGAIN IS NOW!

Thank you for your active participation!

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