Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

POLITICS AND SOCIETY | SPEECHES   169 the “Third Reich” was so immense that it must never be   forgotten. Filing it away would not only cleanse the perpe- trators of their guilt, but would silence the victims and erase their suffering. It would be a grave disservice to our young people and our future, because only by heeding the warnings of history can we understand the present, recognise dangerous developments at an early stage, and enable a peaceful and dignified future. When I look at the world today, it seems more necessary than ever to confront the lessons of our past. Change has always been part of the world, but today it feels increasingly shaped by global, local and societal crises. Political landscapes are becoming more radical, as are growing segments of socie- ties – even in countries once considered prime examples of democracy and civil liberties. Antisemitism and extremism are on the rise – not only in everyday life, but also at national and international levels. The need to remember and learn from history is not only still relevant – it seems to be growing with each passing day. However, remembrance culture is far more than a political token. And recent developments in our own country are cause for concern.We must not allow Jews in Germany to be insulted because of their faith or to live in fear for their physical safety. What we need is awareness, not indifference. This makes it all the more important to provide young people – from all layers of society and a variety of cultural backgrounds – with a deep understanding of history and of the very real atrocities of the “Third Reich”. This remains a pressing and ongoing mission of the Flossenbürg Memorial.What is documented here reso- nates with everyone. It shakes, it pains and it shames. Nothing can fully answer the question of how human beings could inflict such terrible acts on others. But the scholarly docu- mentation, photographic evidence and contemporary witness accounts preserved here in Flossenbürg can – and must – help us remain vigilant and avoid repeating the errors of the past. So, we are coming to the end of an era of contemporary   witnesses. Above all, this means that we need to find new ways to ensure that these vital voices continue to be heard.   For historians and exhibition curators, this means confront- ing the challenge of combining existing records with modern technologies to convey individual, compelling life stories in this next chapter of remembrance. In this context, an exhibition entitled End of Testimony? has been created in collaboration with the Jewish Museum of Hohenems and the Centre for Commemorative Culture at the University of Regensburg. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the University of Regensburg for the close and valu- able partnership, which has been of immeasurable importance to the memorial and its scholarly work. Since 2020, the Bavarian State Government has joined the Bavarian Memorial Foundation and the municipality of   Flossenbürg in advocating for the closure of the quarry and for the expansion of the Flossenbürg Memorial to include this site of suffering and forced labour. In 2021, the Free State of Bavaria decided not to extend the lease for commercial mining beyond March 2024. The site, which still resembles an open wound in the landscape, is integral to the tragic history of the local area and is now being gradually opened to the public. The preservation, management and further development of the Flossenbürg Memorial remain an essential part of our   remembrance culture and our duty to honour the past.While the Free State of Bavaria provides support through an over- arching remembrance programme, the true strength of this work lies with the many full-time and volunteer staff who con- tinuously dedicate their efforts to honouring memory, raising awareness and warning future generations. This is a mission we will continue to pursue. Thank you!