A few days ago, the new cross was erected over the graves of the concentration camp victims sooner than expected.
We are delighted with this restoration, as the light-coloured oak with its inscription and the new copper cladding can be seen from a distance.
On Saturday, 5 September, members of the Friends of the Ladelund Concentration Camp Memorial and Community Centre gathered for their annual meeting. The event began with a prayer service led by Pastor Stuck in Ladelund Church. Afterwards, the chairwoman, Dr Hannegreth Grundmann, together with Mr Bertus Vonhof from Putten, laid a floral tribute at the graves of the concentration camp victims. Following this, all participants gathered at the vicarage for a joint meeting. After the traditional lunch, everyone had the opportunity to view the special exhibition at the Ladelund Concentration Camp Memorial and Community Centre whilst enjoying a cup of coffee.
Volunteers from the Ladelund, Neuengamme and Putten/NL memorial sites organised a joint trip to Auschwitz, Kraków and Oświęcim. The participants have had an impressive and thought-provoking week.
There were many meaningful encounters featuring deep and personal conversations. The experiences and impressions the participants shared will remain unforgettable for everyone.
Here are a few photos along with some thoughts from participants:
‘Don’t think that something like that can’t happen again.’
‘When laying flowers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, everyone felt the same way.’
‘Where hell on earth once was, flowers now bloom. But it’s different…’
‘No one comes back from a journey like that the same person they were when they set off.’
‘Time and again, I realise just how much history has shaped my own life. And time and again, I am left speechless by what people are capable of.’
Pilgrimage group for the Ansgar anniversary
1200 years ago, the Benedictine monk Ansgar set out from Hamburg for Denmark and Sweden. This marked the Vikings’ first planned encounter with Christianity.
To mark the Ansgar anniversary, a group of pilgrims set out from Haddeby near Schleswig on Ascension Day with the goal of arriving in the Danish cathedral city of Ribe by Pentecost. The daily stages covered a distance of 15–25 kilometers. On Sunday, May 17, the 26 pilgrims visited the concentration camp memorial and visitor center in Ladelund in the morning. The group was led by pilgrim pastor Frank Karpa from Hamburg. Here in Ladelund, another 26 people joined them as day guests to accompany the group on the next leg of the journey to Lydersholm (DK). Among them were Bishop Nora Steen and her Danish colleague Marianne Christiansen. Florian Lorenzen, the district administrator of the North Frisia district, also joined the group. Pastor Karpa led a prayer service in the “Garden of Encounter,” which was translated into Danish for the many participants from Denmark and Sweden. Next, the group’s journey continued to the German-Danish border. The border crossing was celebrated with a public worship service led by Nora Steen and Marianne Christiansen in Lydersholm.
This special pilgrimage was made possible thanks to support from Interreg Germany-Denmark, among others.
On 8 May, around 55 visitors attended the opening of the special exhibition entitled “Humour in the Face of Evil” – “Is it OK to laugh at Hitler?”
Professor Maria Leuker-Peltis from the Pole Poppenspäler Förderkreis e. V. opened the evening. Ingrid Quack and Volker Friedrichsen then gave a dramatic reading, accompanied by cellist Claudia Sokollek. The content of the reading was thought-provoking, but also brought a smile to the audience’s faces at times. In particular, it sparked curiosity about the exhibition.
During a visit from a group from Meensel-Kiezegem in Belgium, we naturally mentioned our involvement in the Interreg project ‘Hope & Despair’ and presented them with a book produced as part of the project.
Beim Besuch einer Gruppe aus Belgien, dem Ort Meensel-Kiezegem, haben wir natürlich auf unsere Beteiligung am Interreg-Projekt „Hope & Despair“ hingewiesen und ein aus dem Projekt entstandenes Buch als Geschenk mitgegeben.
During a visit from a group from Meensel-Kiezegem in Belgium, we naturally mentioned our involvement in the Interreg project ‘Hope & Despair’ and presented them with a book produced as part of the project.
Beim Besuch einer Gruppe aus Belgien, dem Ort Meensel-Kiezegem, haben wir natürlich auf unsere Beteiligung am Interreg-Projekt „Hope & Despair“ hingewiesen und ein aus dem Projekt entstandenes Buch als Geschenk mitgegeben.
On Saturday 25 April 2026, with a cold north-westerly wind blowing, around 30 people gathered at the ‘Garden of Encounter’ to prepare it for the new season. Once again this year, a group from Putten (NL) had made their way to Ladelund to lend a helping hand. Together, they weeded, raked and planted. During the breaks, there was plenty of time for lively conversations over a ‘Kopje Koffie’.
The volunteers worked together to plant a hedge around the area near the former anti-tank trench. It serves as a boundary between the newly created path between the ‘Path of Remembrance’ and the new development area.
A new information board about the ‘Garden of Encounter’ has been on display in the garden near the Document House since Saturday.
Once the work was done, all the participants sat down together at the concentration camp memorial and community centre to enjoy freshly baked tarte flambée and bring the day to a pleasant close.
