Two events – one a the Bundestag and one a concert - were held in Berlin on 16 and 17 May 2024 to:

• acknowledge the third anniversary of the passing of the German citizenship reform

• bring together those who have benefitted from this reform, those who were involved in its coming into being and others who desire to foster closer connections and to work towards reconciliation.

The timing of the events also recognised the 75th anniversary of the passing of the German Basic Law on 23rd May 1949.

There was a particular focus at the meetings on youth; on passing the baton to the younger generations to keep alive stories from the past and to continue work towards reconciliation.

Visit to the Bundestag 17th May 2024 : for a meeting with the President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas and a ‘testimonies’ event hosted by the Green Parliamentary Group

It was an honour for friends of the Article 116 Reconciliation Project to meet with the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, in the Protocol room of the Reichstag. There was a moving exchange of views in which she invited the group to speak about the issues that matter to them.

*The group meeting with Bundestag President, Bärbel Bas*

*Group photo with Bundestag President, Bärbel Bas*

This was followed by an event organised by the Green Parliamentary Party where the centrepiece was a number of testimonies read by the younger generation, both those who benefited from the law change and also the children of German friends who have been instrumental in helping the Article 116 group over the years. The account here published by the Green Parliamentary Group provides more detail.

*All the speakers at the event hosted by the Green Parliamentary Party*

Programme for Event at the Bundestag May 2024.pdf

Alexandra Kelly reading the testimony of her grandmother, Ursula Kantor. She noted that “While reconciliation has at its foundation the honest acknowledgement and respectful remembering of the past, its true promise lies in continuing to work together to build a future grounded in compassion and mutual understanding”. Pictures of the other speakers can be seen on the photos page

*Programme for the Reconciliation event hosted by the Green Parliamentary Party*

The visit to the Bundestag also included a powerful tour of the Parliamentary buildings to see the parliament in session, the modern buildings, the historic sights, the artwork and the roof.

Concert at the Mendelssohn Gesellschaft, 16 May 2024

With Dr Felix Klein, the Federal Commissioner for Jewish Life and the Fight against Anti-Semitism. we co-hosted an evening of classical music at the beautiful Mendelssohn Remise.

Thank you to the trio of Felix Klein (violin), Ramon Jaffe (cello) and Heidemarie Wiesner (piano) for providing the music which included pieces by Mendelssohn (Piano Trio No 2 in C minor Op 66), Ernest Bloch (Three nocturnes for Piano Trio, B.56) and Fritz Kreisler (Londonderry Air. Love’s Sorrow, Little Viennese March).

The music was interspersed with speeches by Dr Klein, Diana Cook (who read her mother’s testimony which you can read here) and Isabelle & Felix Couchman.

Visit to the Bundestag and a concert, Berlin: May 2024

Reconciliation Events: Berlin June 2023