Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

174   SPEECHES | POLITICS AND SOCIETY Politics and Society in Bavaria”. And I would add: He is a stroke of good fortune for Bavaria’s remembrance culture. My thanks also go to the Director of the Dachau Memorial,   Dr Gabriele Hammermann, and to the Director of the   Flossenbürg Memorial, Prof. Jörg Skriebeleit. Their passionate work continues to leave a lasting impression on Bavaria’s remembrance culture. You and all your colleagues invest great passion and commit- ment into your daily work to ensure that the victims’ suffering is never forgotten. I appreciate that your work demands tre- mendous emotional strength. Your memorials are not ordinary museums – you are confronted every day with the most brutal crimes that human beings have ever committed. My sincere thanks to you as well! Ladies and Gentlemen, Remembrance also means taking responsibility and standing up against antisemitism, racism, exclusion and xenophobia wherever we encounter such crimes. For me, remembrance means refusing to remain silent. After all, we must never forget that it was the silence of the major- ity that enabled the Nazi regime to commit such unthinkable crimes here in Germany. Antisemites and racists are, thankfully, only a minority in our country. But they are loud, and the   majority of society is often far too quiet. The facts are clear: Antisemitic crimes are on the rise. In 2022, Germany recorded more than 2,600 antisemitic crimes – that is more than seven every day. And it is also true that certain members of society are now less inhibited when it comes   to expressing hatred, racism and antisemitism. Things once unthinkable to say are now voiced openly again. We should be greatly unsettled by the outbursts we often see on social media – and those we witnessed at demonstrations during the pandemic. During the pandemic in particular,   we saw how antisemitic narratives often lay at the heart of conspiracy theories. A resilient democracy does not necessarily need larger-than- life heroes today – but it does need committed democrats. And that means all of us.We must all remain vigilant. As we stand here today, populist and far-right ideas are seeping back into society. Parties that promote such views are gaining more support. Nationalistic poison is spreading across Europe and is threatening to become socially acceptable. This is a call to all democrats to link arms and stand shoulder to shoulder, safeguard the progress we have made in civilisation over the past decades, and stand united against antisemitism, racism and exclusion. Max Mannheimer’s warning is now more relevant than ever: “You are not responsible for what happened. But you are responsible for ensuring it never happens again”. This respon- sibility is rooted in remembrance – and this is a duty shared by society as a whole. As a society, we owe remembrance to the victims, to the survivors and their families, to ourselves and to future generations. Commemorating the victims and their suffering concerns each and every one of us. Neither remembrance nor empathy can   be dictated by law. Yet remembrance work cannot rest solely on the shoulders of civil society – it is a public obligation as well. The state must acknowledge its responsibility and take a clear and unequivocal stance. The Free State of Bavaria is aware of this responsibility.   We are laying foundations for the present and the future.   We remember, support and protect. Allow me to mention   just a few examples: • In 2020, 75 years after the end of the war, we sent a strong signal by adopting a groundbreaking overarching concept for Bavaria’s remembrance culture. It places a special focus on sites associated with victims. Bavaria and Berlin share a special responsibility in that many key architectural testi- monies of the Nazi era and sites of Nazi crimes are located in those federal states. That is why we will preserve, renew and further develop these memorials and places of remem- brance and strengthen research in these fields. • We are also proud of the fact that Bavaria has adopted an “Overarching Concept for Jewish Life and the Fight against Antisemitism”. This is a unique initiative with numerous measures designed to counter antisemitism. All ministries are involved, as are the Jewish communities in Bavaria. The concept includes a nationwide online platform designed to promote Jewish life in Bavaria while raising awareness of the measures we are taking in the fight against antisemitism.