Part of the Welcoming Speech by the Mayor of Sehnde

Gerda Rose was born in Sehnde in her parents¿ home. The Rose family operated a business in Mittelstraße and was - just like the other Jewish citizens - supposedly integrated in Sehnde.

That is, until the time that completely "normal" men and women next-door - here in Sehnde too - lost, betrayed and sold their humanity, their conscience and their morality. The memory of the Holocaust continues to be an issue for all citizens. It is also part of the history of our city, in which we regularly pass houses from which Jews were deported and intentionally sent to their destruction.

The former German Federal President, Roman Herzog warned us a few years ago: "Remembering must not end; it must sound an alarm for future generations too. That¿s why it¿s important to find a form of memorializing these events that have a connection to the future. It should express mourning about the suffering and loss, be dedicated to commemorating the victims and counteracting any sign of repeating itself."

I thank Frau Gerda Wasserman for her courage in describing her fate and I thank Herr Hans-Hermann Seiffert for his work in putting together this book, which will help us in never forgetting what happened.

Carl Jürgen Lehrke
Mayor of the City of Sehnde