Friday marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp on 27 January 1945. For the past 19 years, the German football community has come together to commemorate those who were persecuted, deported and murdered during the National Socialist regime.
Forchtenberg memorial visit
On Tuesday, a group of VfB and JAKO employees led by VfB executive committee member Christian Riethmüller and VfB historian Florian Gauß travelled to the Hohenlohe town of Forchtenberg – the birthplace of resistance fighter Sophie Scholl, who was executed by the Nazis in 1943. The VfB delegation visited the town’s ‘Weisse Rose i-punkt’ memorial, to which they have committed their support with a donation of 1893 euros.
Commemoration ceremony at VfB’s club centre
On Friday morning, VfB Stuttgart held a commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony at the club centre, sending out a clear message against racism and violence, and for diversity, democracy and international understanding. During the ceremony, VfB Stuttgart remembered not only the club members who were expelled between 1932 and 1945, but all victims of the Nazi regime.
Show of support in Leipzig
To mark the end of this year’s Day of Remembrance in German football, the VfB Stuttgart team will wear warm-up tops bearing the logo of the “!NieWieder” (“Never again!”) initiative before Friday’s game at RB Leipzig. In doing so, they will be showing their support for the World Jewish Congress’s #WeRemember campaign alongside their opponents.