Margot Friedländer Memorial: “Opening eyes and hearts to the suffering of others”

You rarely see so many young people at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall: Over 600 came on Wednesday evening to take part in a memorial event for Margot Friedländer , along with numerous representatives from politics, society, and culture. The young people come from schools where the Shoah survivor has read in recent years. In 2024 alone, Friedländer – at the age of 103 – attended 212 events. "Magot managed to inspire young people, to embrace her message, and to spread it," Karsten Dreinhöfer, chairman of the board of the "Margot Friedländer Foundation," told the Berlin Zeitung. Now it is up to the foundation to continue even without its founder. Margot Friedländer died on May 9th.

The time with Margot was easy, says Dreinhöfer. Now the foundation faces the challenge of having to continue without the contemporary witness: "We decided together with her that her mission will continue." Dreinhöfer is relying on technology: "We are in the process of building an avatar. This will give us all kinds of options for using it in schools or elsewhere in society." To this end, the orthopedic professor spends his free time transcribing Friedländer's speeches, interviews, and contributions. The original sources represent a treasure that the foundation would like to make available to schools: "It's not just about telling her story, but about conveying her values," says Dreinhöfer. The foundation will continue to strictly avoid any partisan stance. In order to pass on Friedländer's ideals, the foundation is considering establishing an academy to train multipliers who can spread the idea of ​​humanity in schools.

One of the ambassadors already demonstrating how it's done is Hèdi Bouden, cultural representative and coordinator of the Yad Vashem School Partnership and Israel -Germany exchange projects at the Helmut Schmidt Gymnasium in Hamburg. At the memorial service, he recounted how he had made a card for Margot Friedländer, but ultimately forgot to give it to her. The card traveled with him around the world: "And so I took it back with me – on my flight to Israel the next morning, on my mission with 'Architecture of Hope' to give hope in this dark time. I carried the card with me, accompanied by young people – Israelis and Palestinians, and in between Gaza, survivors of October 7th from Shaar HaNegev and Rahat, and the entire country – people who no longer spoke to each other – gathered together in the Arab-Hebrew Theater in Old Jaffa! The card was now part of this journey. It brought people together and opened their eyes and hearts to each other's suffering."

Bouden also drew a connection to Germany, asking: "What is the state of our democracy? How can it be that right-wing extremist parties, organizations, magazines, and ideologies – 80 years after Auschwitz – are accepted in the mainstream of our society?"

Margot Friedländer has also influenced many politicians in Germany. Former Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also attended the Philharmonie. When asked to what extent Margot Friedländer had influenced her attitude, Baerbock told the Berliner Zeitung: "I learned from Margot Friedländer what it truly means to be human. She helped me to believe in life and to find strength. Her statement: 'There is no Jewish blood, no Christian blood, no Muslim blood, only human blood!' has become a guiding political principle for me." Friedländer's principles were "particularly important to her after the Hamas attack on October 7." The aim of terrorism is always "to turn people against one another." Keynote speakers Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Governing Mayor Kai Wegner also said, in essence, that a policy based on humanity must immunize against precisely this. Musical performances at the event included members of the Berlin Philharmonic, Max Raabe, the Berlin State and Cathedral Choir, the Folkadu Ensemble and David Hermlin with his Swing Dance Orchestra.