Memorial work in Salzgitter has been sustainably strengthened through adjustments to institutional funding provided by the Lower Saxony Memorial Sites Foundation, the City of Salzgitter, and the Arbeitskreis Stadtgeschichte e.V.

On June 23, Dr. Elke Gryglewski, Executive Director of the Lower Saxony Memorial Sites Foundation; Frank Klingebiel, Mayor of the City of Salzgitter; and Jeannette Hentschel, Chairwoman of the Arbeitskreis Stadtgeschichte e.V., signed the corresponding funding agreement at the Drütte Concentration Camp Memorial.

“Strengthening regional memorial sites in Lower Saxony can only succeed through close cooperation with local municipalities. We are pleased that the City of Salzgitter is joining us in securing the long-term future of the Drütte Concentration Camp Memorial,” emphasizes Dr. Elke Gryglewski.

With this adjustment to the funding, the annual contributions from the City of Salzgitter, the Lower Saxony Memorial Sites Foundation, and the Arbeitskreis Stadtgeschichte e.V. have increased. This ensures that the funding reflects the expanded scope of the memorial’s work. In particular, the adjustment takes into account the expanded staffing levels as well as the significant increase in visitor numbers at the Drütte Concentration Camp Memorial and Documentation Center since its expansion and redesign in 2022. Today, nearly 4,000 visitors come to the memorial site—about four times as many as in 2019. Inquiries and visits from relatives of former forced laborers, concentration camp inmates, and prisoners of war are also continuing to rise. In addition, the range of educational programs and events has been expanded in recent years.

“The increase in funding is of great importance to us. It enables us to plan and further develop the memorial’s work with confidence for the future. At the same time, we see it as recognition and appreciation of our work to date,” emphasizes Jeannette Hentschel.

Mayor Frank Klingebiel adds: “The City History Working Group and the team at the Drütte Memorial carry out significant and indispensable remembrance work in our city. They deserve our deepest gratitude for this. Historical education and an understanding of why democracy is so important are more crucial than ever in today’s world. That is why adjusting the funding is so crucial to the continuation of this successful remembrance work.”