Landsberg am Lech, 30 November 2025 – It is with deep gratitude and utmost respect that the International Auschwitz Committee honours this year’s Liberation Concert in Landsberg am Lech.

At the city’s municipal theatre young people from Landsberg and Israel made an impressive statement against forgetting, against hatred, and against relativizing history under the motto ‘Youth Meets History – 80 Years of the Liberation Concert’.

The president of the International Auschwitz Committee, Holocaust survivor Dr Eva Umlauf, was the patron of this year’s anniversary concert where she addressed the young people and guests. In her speech, she praised the commitment of the younger generation, who are embracing the memory of the liberation concerts performed by the surviving musicians from the Displaced Persons camps in St Ottilien and Landsberg and translating it into their own language and music.

Dr Eva Umlauf reminded listeners that the first liberation concert was held on 27 May 1945, just a few weeks after the end of the Nazi dictatorship. She said it cried out to the world with a clear, yet very vulnerable voice: ‘We are alive. We are still here.’ At that time the musicians used their instruments to bear witness to humanity, dignity, and hope. In this way they laid the foundation for a culture of remembrance that looks to the future, rather than constantly dwelling on pain.

Against the background of current political developments in Germany and Europe, Eva Umlauf emphasized that this concert sends a clear signal, especially today: ‘The music and your voices show that you are assuming responsibility – for democracy, for respectful coexistence, against anti-Semitism, and against any form of contempt for humanity.’ She passed on her powerful message to the young people with two simple words: ‘Have hope.’