Euskirchen remembers Zalman Gradowski: Courageous witness for the future!

Euskirchen remembers Zalman Gradowski: Courageous witness for the future!

On November 11, 2025, hundreds of people gathered in Euskirchen to remember the atrocities of National Socialism. On this momentous day, a memorial service was held that focused in particular on the fate of Zalman Gradowski, a Jewish prisoner who lived in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Gradowski's family, which included his wife, mother and two sisters, were murdered in the gas chambers. Gradowski himself, as part of a Sonderkommando, had the horrific task of accompanying prisoners to the gas chamber and secretly documented Nazi crimes before he was fatally injured during a camp uprising on October 7, 1944. During his time in the camp, he managed to bury his notes with the hope that they would one day serve as reminders for a peaceful world, reports ksta.de.

This memorial event took place on the exact anniversary of the pogrom night, a night marked by violence and the destruction of Jewish property. Michael Mombaur, the head of the Marienschule high school, gave a moving speech in which he emphasized the importance of remembering and encouraged those present to stand up for democracy and tolerance. “We have to fight against racism and anti-Semitism,” said Mombaur, underlining the role of young people in this process.

Committed students organize the memorial service

The memorial service was organized by students from various schools, who created a moving atmosphere. Through singing, prayers and artistic contributions, they remembered the victims of the Holocaust. The performances, which included passages from “Margarethe's Clouds” as well as works by Bach and Debussy, were particularly impressive. Mayor Sacha Reichelt praised the students' commitment and active participation in the event, which ended with a ceremony at the synagogue memorial. Candles were placed at the memorial there to commemorate the deceased.

The story of Zalman Gradowski points to the unimaginable horrors that occurred during the Holocaust. Historical data shows that from 1933 to 1945, approximately six million Jews and other groups persecuted by the Nazis were killed. This also included Sinti and Roma as well as political dissidents, people with disabilities and many others. This systematic extermination was not only a crime against humanity, but also a cruel manifestation of the already existing anti-Semitism and antigypsyism promoted by the Nazis, according to un.org.

Buried as a time capsule in Auschwitz, Gradowski's memoirs carry the legacy of many who suffered under the Nazi regime and wanted to bear witness for future generations. His secret diary is not only a personal account, but also an important historical document that provides information about life in the camp and documents the unimaginable atrocities he experienced there, as wikipedia.org notes. Remembering such tragic fates remains essential to ensure that history does not repeat itself.