Opening of the exhibition “Protecting memory” in German Federal Foreign Office

28/08/2019

On 28 August 2019, the exhibition on the “Protecting memory” project was opened at the Federal Foreign Office by the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas. In his moving speech, the Federal Minister emphasised the relevance of the project for the present and the need for active action against anti-Semitism. The Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, spoke of Jewish history as a component of Ukrainian national history. Uwe Neumärker, Director of the Memorial Foundation, introduced the topic of the project and spoke of the need for a central place of information about German occupation policy in Europe — from France to the Soviet Union. The event was moderated by Michaela Küchler, Special Representative for Relations with Jewish Organisations and Combating Anti-Semitism at the Federal Foreign Office.

The Ukrainian partners from the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, the director and administrative head Anatolii and Zhanna Podolski, and the author of the pictures Anna Voitenko travelled to Berlin especially for the exhibition opening. It will be on display at the Federal Foreign Office until 6 September. It is planned to produce the exhibition as a travelling exhibition in Ukraine in autumn 2019.

Photo: Marko Prieske