Thousands of people united for an open-minded society as over 80 clubs and organisations were present at the large-scale ‘Return of the Names’ project in Munich city centre on Thursday - and FC Bayern was right in the middle of it with its Red against Racism initiative. The German record champions were represented by president Herbert Hainer as well as by participating fans and employees who acted as godparents to the victims of the Nazi dictatorship.
"Once again, it was an event that proves how great cohesion is when you want to demonstrate the values of democracy," summarised Hainer. "We at FC Bayern are glad that we were able to play our part. In this day and age, it is important to recognise beginnings. Remembering alone is not enough. You have to be active and bring the lessons of the past to life in order to stand up for a living democracy. This has been impressively demonstrated here today by thousands of people."
In the remembrance project organised by Bayerischer Rundfunk with the support of the City of Munich under the patronage of the president of the Bavarian State Parliament, Ilse Aigner (CSU), 1,000 people acted as godparents to victims of the Nazi era. Club employees also stood with signs at residential or business locations, found based on research by the FC Bayern Museum, to commemorate murdered Munich residents who once had a connection to FC Bayern.
Following the Path of Remembrance demonstration from Königsplatz to Odeonsplatz, there was a large rally to strengthen democracy. Mayor Dieter Reiter and Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, spoke on stage, and among those present was Romani Rose, chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, as well as contemporary witnesses Eva Umlauf and Ernst Grube. "Today," said Reiter, looking out into the crowd, "is another day on which I am proud to be Mayor of Munich." Patron Aigner added: "Thanks to all of you here today, Munich is the capital of the countermovement."
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