Topping-out ceremony at the Fritz Bauer Forum

On 24 May 2024, the topping-out ceremony of the Fritz Bauer Forum took place at Bochumer Feldmark 107 and even the weather played along and the rain took a break.

In addition to the invited guests Karl Peter Brendel , Serdar Yüksel , Jens Mittelsten Scheid , Dirk Meyer from the East District Council and Mayor Gaby Schäfer , many other interested parties also attended. Member of the Bundestag Axel Schäfer also came along, as did Sonja Gräf , deputy chairwoman of the City of Bochum’s Committee for Culture and Tourism. Peter Borgmann (member of the Bochum-Süd district council) from the Green Party attended the festival. Managing Director PD Dr Irmtrud Wojak and the architects Rainer Tönnes and Dietrich Kanke led an excited group from politics, society and the press around the site and talked about the history of the location, the conversion and its future tasks.

Jens Mittelsten Scheid, major sponsor of the project, said when asked about his commitment: „I consider the establishment of the Fritz Bauer Forum as a centre for education, discussion and research on human rights issues to be important and necessary, because human rights are coming under increasing pressure in Europe and worldwide. I am very happy to be able to contribute to the establishment of this centre.“

Serdar Yüksel , member of the state parliament and long-time supporter of the Fritz Bauer Forum, said in his speech that he sees the Fritz Bauer Forum as a „centre of democracy and the rule of law.“ Yüksel emphasised that „in times in which achievements that we believe to be secure, such as our democratic, peaceful coexistence, are being put to the test, in which human rights are being violated, such an institution is all the more important. We can look forward to soon having such a place of encounter, exchange and knowledge about our legal and democratic principles in Bochum.“ In his speech, Karl Peter Brendel , Member of the Board of the NRW-Stiftung, emphasised: „As a persistent investigator of Nazi crimes, Fritz Bauer is a role model for coming to terms with the Holocaust and the fight for justice and against anti-Semitism – also for the younger generation. The Fritz Bauer Forum not only promotes the culture of remembrance of Bauer’s achievements, but also creates a place that stands for dialogue and democracy. This is why the NRW-Stiftung is supporting BUXUS STIFTUNG gGmbH with up to 450,000 euros for the renovation and refurbishment of the listed former mourning hall as a library.“

The Managing Director of the Fritz Bauer Forum, PD Dr Irmtrud Wojak, who courageously hammered in the last nail, thanked the craftsmen and sponsors of the Forum as well as the Fritz Bauer Forum team, who together manage the construction under difficult conditions as continuously as possible.

That evening, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra played in front of an enthusiastic audience in the completely full Fritz Bauer Library as part of their concert series. And the musicians were delighted with the good acoustics in the room.