Review: Remembering and commemorating – Bayer sites get active with #WeRemember
As part of the #WeRemember initiative, the Finkelstein Foundationpartnered with Bayer sites in Berlin, Leverkusen, Wuppertal, Dormagen, and Basel to organize various events on the topics of remembrance culture and Jewish life at the end of January and in February 2025. These activities took place in the context of the weeks of remembrance surrounding International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the World Jewish Congress campaign.
Mitarbeitende des Bayer Standortes in Dormagen vor dem Gustav-Stresemann-Institut in Bonn, © Jürgen Müller
Visit to the Sachsenhausen Memorial by employees from Bayer's Berlin site
70 employees from Bayer's Berlin site took part in a visit to the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum. Divided into three groups, they were given a guided tour of the former concentration camp and learned about the economic ties that existed during the Nazi era. Topics such as the shoe testing track, forced labor, and medical experiments were examined in their historical context. Special thanks go to site manager Bettina von Streit and site communications managers Simone Kannapinn and Michaela Haarhuis for their cooperation with the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation.
Further events during the month of action
In addition to the excursions, screenings of the film “Die Ermittlung” (The Investigation) took place at three Bayer sites during the month. This series shed light on the legal investigation of the crimes committed at Auschwitz. Further information about the film screenings and the film can be found here.
Remembering on site: Bayer Dormagen and the I.G. Farben exhibition
In February, 30 employees from the Bayer site in Dormagen visited the traveling exhibition “I.G. Farben and the Buna-Monowitz Concentration Camp – Economy and Politics under National Socialism” at the Gustav Stresemann Institute in Bonn. This visit was also part of the #WeRemember campaign and took place in connection with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The excursion was an initiative of the Dormagen site in collaboration with the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation. “We were delighted to be able to offer production employees this opportunity together with our colleagues in Dormagen as part of the remembrance projects surrounding International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” said the organizers on site.
About the #WeRemember campaign
The campaign was launched in 2017 by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in collaboration with UNESCO. Its aim is to combat anti-Semitism and all forms of genocide, hatred, and xenophobia, as well as to further promote education about the Holocaust. The WJC is represented on the advisory council of the Finkelstein Foundation by Bella Zchwiraschwili.
