Wachsendes Gedenken – Growing remembrance
The “Growing Remembrance” initiative was launched by the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance in Zwickau, as the NSU trio lived there for a long time. In 2019, a tree planted in Zwickau in honour of the florist Enver Şimşek was desecrated. A wooden bench intended as a replacement was also damaged shortly afterwards. These incidents caused outrage across Germany and triggered another wave of solidarity with the victims.
Thanks to the efforts of civil society, support from the city council and donations from companies and private individuals, a memorial site has now been created in Zwickau at the Schwanenteich in Zwickau, near a monument to the victims of fascism.
Pupils from various schools in the city are sponsoring the memorial trees. On the birthdays of the NSU victims, they are commemorated with cranes and flowers.
Every year on 4 November, Zwickau civil society organises a memorial service for the NSU victims.
In addition, educational projects and events are regularly organised, for example by the Zwickau History Workshop and as part of the November Days.
Since 2019, there has been the “Growing Remembrance” project, in which trees are planted in the hometowns of the NSU victims. These events are closely coordinated with local initiatives and city councils. So far, trees have been planted in Hamburg, Heilbronn, Nuremberg and Kassel.
The NSU terrorist group was uncovered on 4 November 2011. Between 2000 and 2007, the right-wing terrorists murdered ten people for racist motives. The trio, originally from Jena, lived in secret for years in Chemnitz and Zwickau and had numerous supporters.