Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

192   SPEECHES | INSTITUTIONS Institutions ©Dachau Memorial To All Official Representatives in Your Respective Offices and Functions, Dear Former Prisoners, Dear Liberators from the United States, Dear Descendants of Prisoners and Liberators, Distinguished Representatives of Public, Religious and Civil Society Institutions, Dear Guests, On behalf of the Comité International de Dachau (CID) – to- gether with Mr Karl Freller, Director of the Bavarian Memorial Foundation, and Dr Gabriele Hammermann, Director of the Dachau Memorial – I have the privilege of welcoming you to this commemoration ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. We are delighted to see that so many of you are here today. Among you are numerous descendants of victims and survi- vors from many different countries.We are especially honoured by the presence of surviving prisoners and American liberators, who are here with their families.We are also pleased to wel- come the descendants of former liberators and U.S. soldiers, as well as representatives of the 42nd and 45th U.S. Infantry Divisions – both active and retired. In April 1945, it was the combined actions of these units that led to the liberation of the town of Dachau and ultimately the concentration camp itself. In the days before liberation, count- less rumours had spread within the camp; while some dared to hope that freedom was approaching, others feared a deadly evacuation. It was in this atmosphere of uncertainty that Patrick O’Leary joined a number of the stronger prisoners in founding the first International Prisoners’ Committee. Its purpose was to ensure the safety of the inmates in the event of an attempted evacua- tion or liquidation by the SS guards. Dominique Boueilh President of the Comité International de Dachau (CID) 80th anniversary  of the liberation of Dachau  4 May 2025 On 30 April, following the liberation of the camp, a close collaboration was forged between this committee and the U.S. command – with the aim of providing urgent medical assis- tance to the prisoners and organising their swift repatriation. Yet despite these efforts, many died in the days that followed due to the severe physical toll of their captivity. On 8 May 1945, Arthur Haulot assumed leadership of the committee from Patrick O’Leary, who had to leave for London. By the end of June 1945, the camp had been largely evacuated. It is so wonderful to see the descendants of prisoners and their liberators gathered here today. Today’s memorial procession was led by the grandson of Arthur Haulot carrying a book that lists the 40,000 victims of Dachau and its subcamps. Thanks to the commitment of the CID, the grounds of the former concentration camp – once left to deteriorate – were granted official memorial status in 1965. Under the steward- ship of the Free State of Bavaria, the site has gradually evolved into the memorial we know today, welcoming more than one million visitors from around the world each year. In 2003, the Bavarian Memorial Foundation was established. It plays a key role in shaping a remembrance policy aimed at all members of society – both at the Dachau Memorial and the Flossenbürg Memorial, and increasingly at the surviving remains of the subcamps. I allow myself this historical reflection to honour the tireless commitment of all those who are present today – united in preserving the memory of the greatest tragedy in human history, born of the delusion of National Socialist ideologies of supremacy. Our sincere gratitude also goes to all of the teams who helped organise this commemorative event – with great care and dedication in addressing all its challenges.