In a joint ceremony, the state capital of Munich and the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria (IKG) remember the special significance of November 9th in the history of the city.
From November 8th to 9th, 1923, Adolf Hitler tried to seize power in the Bürgerbräukeller – which failed. 15 years later – on November 9, 1938 – there was a Nazi commemorative march in the city to commemorate this putsch. After the party leadership meeting in the Old Town Hall, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels gave a speech in which he praised anti-Jewish actions.
The assembled Gauleiters and SA leaders took this as a request. Violence exploded during the night: synagogues, shops and apartments were stormed and destroyed across the country. Several hundred Jews were murdered. Munich, proclaimed by Hitler as the capital of his movement, was the starting point for Kristallnacht.
Again 65 years after the dark day – on November 9, 2003 – a new chapter in Munich’s Jewish history was opened in Munich with the laying of the foundation stone for the main synagogue “Ohel Jakob”. The building symbolizes the return of Judaism to the heart of the city.
However, the event almost turned into a catastrophe. In September 2003, the police found a cache of explosives: neo-Nazis had apparently made plans to detonate a bomb before the laying of the foundation stone.
This year, IKG President Charlotte Knobloch, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD), Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), State Parliament President Ilse Aigner (CSU), will speak at the commemoration and ceremony on the special date in the main synagogue on St.-Jakobs-Platz. the former Federal President Horst Köhler (CDU), the former Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber (CSU) and former Mayor Christian Ude (SPD).
The event will be broadcast live from approximately 7 p.m Bavarian Radio broadcast in a BR24 live stream.