Today marks 81 years since soldiers of the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Since 1996, 27 January has been observed internationally as a day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism.
Shortly before the liberation, the SS had forced most of the prisoners on death marches towards the west. When the Soviet army reached Auschwitz, they found only around 7,600 severely ill and exhausted survivors, as well as approximately 650 dead. For most of those left behind, liberation was not a moment of joy, but the end of an almost unimaginable period of suffering. Many were too sick, weakened, and exhausted to comprehend their freedom.
One of the liberators was Ivan Stepanovich Martynushkin, who was 21 years old at the time. It was only after the end of the war that he fully grasped the extent of the crimes whose traces the Red Army encountered in Auschwitz.
“They had been through hell. Under constant threat of death. Of course, they were completely exhausted (…) But in their eyes, only in their eyes, there was joy. The joy of being free. The joy that their hell was finally over,” he later recalled.
He explained that at first he believed he was liberating a prisoner-of-war camp. Only after the war did he understand what he had seen in Auschwitz:
“When we arrived and saw the ovens, we thought it was a crematorium. That people had died and, instead of being buried, were cremated. No one could imagine that these ovens had been built to kill people, that they were part of a systematic plan of extermination.”
Contrary to later images, there was no moment of collective celebration on 27 January 1945. Most of the survivors were too weak to walk, severely ill with typhus, and close to death from starvation. Soviet soldiers provided emergency aid, supplying food from nearby villages.
A Soviet film crew documented Auschwitz several days after the liberation. Under chaotic conditions and sometimes without adequate lighting, footage was recorded that later became known worldwide. Some scenes were staged, including the opening of the camp gates and cheering prisoners. Despite these reconstructions, the film contains authentic material, such as images of the discovered corpses and the vast piles of clothing, glasses, suitcases, and other stolen belongings of those who were murdered. The footage of the barracks, crematoria, and industrial facilities also reveals the infrastructure and scale of the camp. The films were later used as evidence in court proceedings against the perpetrators and remain part of the permanent exhibition at the Auschwitz Memorial. To this day, they are a central symbol of remembrance of the extermination of European Jews.
One of the survivors was Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier. Her story can be found on the #ZumFeindGemacht website.
Auschwitz stands as a symbol of the industrially organized mass murder of European Jews and of the suffering of millions of other people persecuted and murdered by the National Socialist regime. On this day of remembrance, we honor the murdered and the survivors.
On March 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., Nora Hespers will speak at the Erzählcafé hosted by the Bundesverband Information & Beratung für NS-Verfolgte e.V. She is the granddaughter of the resistance fighter Theo Hespers.
Nora Hespers, born in 1978 in Mönchengladbach, is the granddaughter of Theo Hespers, who became involved in resistance against National Socialism at an early stage. In 1933, he fled with his family to the Netherlands and later to Belgium, where he continued his resistance activities in exile. In 1942, the family was arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Germany. One year later, Theo Hespers was executed by the National Socialists.
His wife was imprisoned, and their son Dirk — Nora’s father — was sent to live with his grandmother in Mönchengladbach. The experiences of flight, persecution, and the brutal murder of his father profoundly shaped Dirk Hespers’ life. The traumas of that time influenced not only his own biography but also the upbringing of his daughter Nora. In her book “My Grandfather, His Resistance Against the Nazis, and Me,” Nora Hespers recounts her grandfather’s life in the resistance, the consequences for her father, and how this history of persecution has shaped her own life and political awareness.
The Cologne Erzählcafé takes place several times a year and is open to school classes, youth groups, and other interested participants. If you would like to attend, the Bundesverband Information & Beratung für NS-Verfolgte e.V. kindly asks you to register in advance by phone at +49 (0)221 179294-0 or via email at rex@nsberatung.de.
Contact: Vanessa Rex, rex@nsberatung.de, ph.: 0221-179294-0
Location: Altenberger Hof, Mauenheimer Straße 92, 50733 Köln
Today marks 81 years since soldiers of the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Since 1996, 27 January has been observed internationally as a day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism.
Shortly before the liberation, the SS had forced most of the prisoners on death marches towards the west. When the Soviet army reached Auschwitz, they found only around 7,600 severely ill and exhausted survivors, as well as approximately 650 dead. For most of those left behind, liberation was not a moment of joy, but the end of an almost unimaginable period of suffering. Many were too sick, weakened, and exhausted to comprehend their freedom.
One of the liberators was Ivan Stepanovich Martynushkin, who was 21 years old at the time. It was only after the end of the war that he fully grasped the extent of the crimes whose traces the Red Army encountered in Auschwitz.
“They had been through hell. Under constant threat of death. Of course, they were completely exhausted (…) But in their eyes, only in their eyes, there was joy. The joy of being free. The joy that their hell was finally over,” he later recalled.
He explained that at first he believed he was liberating a prisoner-of-war camp. Only after the war did he understand what he had seen in Auschwitz:
“When we arrived and saw the ovens, we thought it was a crematorium. That people had died and, instead of being buried, were cremated. No one could imagine that these ovens had been built to kill people, that they were part of a systematic plan of extermination.”
Contrary to later images, there was no moment of collective celebration on 27 January 1945. Most of the survivors were too weak to walk, severely ill with typhus, and close to death from starvation. Soviet soldiers provided emergency aid, supplying food from nearby villages.
A Soviet film crew documented Auschwitz several days after the liberation. Under chaotic conditions and sometimes without adequate lighting, footage was recorded that later became known worldwide. Some scenes were staged, including the opening of the camp gates and cheering prisoners. Despite these reconstructions, the film contains authentic material, such as images of the discovered corpses and the vast piles of clothing, glasses, suitcases, and other stolen belongings of those who were murdered. The footage of the barracks, crematoria, and industrial facilities also reveals the infrastructure and scale of the camp. The films were later used as evidence in court proceedings against the perpetrators and remain part of the permanent exhibition at the Auschwitz Memorial. To this day, they are a central symbol of remembrance of the extermination of European Jews.
One of the survivors was Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier. Her story can be found on the #ZumFeindGemacht website.
Auschwitz stands as a symbol of the industrially organized mass murder of European Jews and of the suffering of millions of other people persecuted and murdered by the National Socialist regime. On this day of remembrance, we honor the murdered and the survivors.
This year, once again, Christmas parcels were distributed to survivors of Nazi persecution in need in Cologne. The parcels were provided by Kölner Rundschau Altenhilfe DIE GUTE TAT e.V.. The Federal Association applied for the parcels on behalf of seniors who do not live in residential care facilities and personally distributed them during the Community Café for survivors of Nazi persecution in Cologne.
The joy during the handover was palpable: conversations, laughter, and a warm sense of togetherness shaped the afternoon. The parcels are intended not only to provide material support but also to serve as a sign of appreciation and recognition for the survivors.
“These encounters are deeply moving for all of us and show how important solidarity and community are, especially during the Christmas season,” says Vanessa Rex, project coordinator of the Community and Testimony Café Cologne.
The Federal Association would like to thank all partners and supporters who made this initiative possible.
We remember Tamara Shishigina (née Kisnitschan), who for many years was a participant in our Cologne Community and Testimony Café.
Tamara Shishigina was born on May 31, 1937, in Chișinău, today the capital of the Republic of Moldova, into a Jewish family. Her childhood was shaped by the Second World War and the Holocaust. After her father was drafted into the army, she lived with her mother, and later also with her younger sister, at her grandmother’s home in the village of Maiak in the Odessa Oblast. In 1942, Tamara, her mother, and her little sister were arrested, first taken to Dubăsari, and then deported to the ghetto in the village of Chernoye. There, the family survived hunger, overcrowding, and forced labor only thanks to the support of their grandmother and their liberation by the Soviet Army.
After the war, Tamara Shishigina pursued her education and sports career with great determination. She became a champion in rhythmic gymnastics, was a member of the Moldovan volleyball team, and studied sports sciences at the University of Chișinău. For many years, she worked as a lecturer at both the Pedagogical Institute and the Polytechnic Institute, before retiring in 1996.
In 2001, Tamara Shishigina emigrated to Germany.
Despite significant health limitations - due in no small part to her earlier career as a gymnast - Tamara sought to live as independently as possible until the very end. She was an exceptionally diligent person who achieved her academic and professional successes through her own efforts. Tamara was a well-groomed, warm-hearted individual and remained so until the end of her life. We will miss her greatly and will remember her with deep gratitude.
A few weeks ago, we informed you that the current funding for the historical and political education project #ZumFeindGemacht will expire at the end of the year 2025 and that a donation campaign had been launched.
Thanks to this support, more than €6,000 has been raised so far. While this amount is not sufficient to continue the project at its previous scale, it does make a temporary interim solution possible: part of the team will continue #ZumFeindGemacht on a voluntary basis for the time being.
So far, no follow-up funding has been secured. The search for long-term funding opportunities is ongoing. In order to bridge this transitional period and avoid having to suspend work on #ZumFeindGemacht entirely, the project continues to rely on support.
Why Your Support Remains Crucial
For many young people, teachers, and educators, #ZumFeindGemacht has become an important space for digital remembrance culture. To ensure that the voices of those persecuted under National Socialism and their descendants do not fall silent, solidarity and financial support are needed—especially during this transitional phase.
We therefore ask you:
Help us bridge this period and support #ZumFeindGemacht.
Donate to #ZumFeindGemacht now.
Thanks to the support of the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation, we are able to give something back to everyone who supports us with a donation via Betterplace: as a small token of appreciation, you will receive a #ZumFeindGemacht tote bag - while supplies last. Simply send a short email with your mailing address to info@nsberatung.de, and your tote bag will be on its way.
Stay connected, continue to follow us - and thank you for making #ZumFeindGemacht possible.
The Federal Association for Information and Counseling for Victims of Nazi Persecution (Bunesverband Information & Beratung für NS-Verfolgte e.V.) is pleased to announce the extension of the innovative project "Spaces of Memory of Flight" ("Erinnerungsräume der Flucht" unteil the end of July 2027.
The project combines historical education with cutting-edge virtual reality technology: young people meet survivors of Nazi persecution, conduct interviews, and identify pivotal scenes from their life stories. These scenes are first realized artistically as dioramas and then digitized. Through scanning and transferring them into virtual reality, immersive memory spaces are created, which - enhanced by contextual explanations - allow for an in-depth engagement with the persecution histories of the survivors.
In addition to exploring history, participants acquire technical skills and engage with socially relevant topics such as exclusion, discrimination, group-related hostility, and flight. The project also provides a safe space to reflect on one’s own family and flight histories and to draw connections.
The results are regularly presented to the public, most recently during the Museum Night 2024 at the NS Documentation Center Cologne.
By combining digital and analog formats, the project offers young people an innovative approach to the history of Nazi persecution and encourages reflection on democratic values.
The next phase of the VR project will take place at the Gesamtschule Lindenthal in Cologne. Interested schools, youth groups, and educators are warmly invited to apply to participate in the project.
Contact:
Katharina Pysmenna (Tel. +49 221 17 92 94 18 pysmenna@nsberatung.de)
Katarina Gavrik (Tel. +49 221 17 92 94 22 gavrik@nsberatung.de)
