Due to the fact that eyewitnesses of the Nazi terror are becoming ever fewer, a culture of remembrance is assuming increasing significance. 

The city of Kamenz and its committed citizens found various ways of democratic remembrance culture in dealing with this dark chapter of German history.

Closely connected to the culture of remembrance in the Herrental is the Support Association ‘Memorial of the Kamenz-Herrental Subcamp of the Concentration Camp’. It was founded on 3 July 2008 and pursues the objectives set out in its own statutes. These include the promotion of the establishment of a memorial in the Herrental area, which is defined as the association’s fundamental purpose. Furthermore, the memorial is intended to be dedicated to the victims and to serve their commemoration. 

Through the acquisition of funds by means of donations, membership fees, and promotional events, the financial foundation for achieving the association’s statutory goals is ensured. The memorial was inaugurated publicly and ceremonially on 7 July 2011. The ceremony was led by the mayor of Kamenz, Roland Dantz, and the then chairman of the Support Association, Wolfgang Teichert. 

Another fundamental element of the culture of remembrance surrounding the Herrental consists of exhibitions and initiatives dealing with the historical background. On 4 July 2003, a citizens’ initiative from Kamenz addressed the people of the town. The occasion was the event ‘The Chimney Warns – A Day in the Herrental’. The aim of this initiative was to recall the sites of Nazi crimes and to convey the history of these places to younger generations. 

The Saxon Memorial Foundation organised a travelling exhibition from 11 February to 2 April 2009 entitled ‘What then began was outrageous…’. The purpose of this exhibition was to bring the early concentration camps back into the collective memory of younger generations and thus to prevent forgetting. 

Also particularly noteworthy is the exhibition ‘The Chimney Warns’, which dealt with the history of the Herrental memorial. It was shown from 12 April to 20 May 2022 in the atrium of Kamenz Town Hall but could also be visited at other locations in the surrounding area. 

In December 2021, an application for funding submitted by the association ‘Memorial of the Subcamp Kamenz-Herrental e.V.’ was approved. Together with several donations, this made it possible to install information panels. Exactly ten years after the inauguration, on July 7, 2021, the event ‘Remember – Commemorate – Warn! 75 Years of Liberation from Hitler’s Fascism’ took place. 

Almost 50 participants attended, including the Mayor’s representative Thomas Käppler, as well as Wolfgang Teichert, Dr. Dieter Rostowski, and Andreas Koch, who moderated the event. Flowers were laid, and speeches reflected on the past and the increasing importance of memorials, as the number of eyewitnesses continues to decline. 

In addition to those mentioned here, there are of course other exhibitions and events, such as the annual commemoration of the end of the Second World War on May 8 at the memorial on the Hutberg and in the Herrental, organized by the association. Flyers and books also explain the historical background of Kamenz’s Herrental and commemorate the victims. 

All of these activities form part of the diverse culture of remembrance surrounding the memorial.

First steps toward a culture of remembrance in the 1950s (Sächsische Zeitung): In the spirit of antifascism as the integrative ideology of the GDR, the Herrental was renamed ‘Valley of the Resistance Fighters’ in 1952. After German reunification in 1990, the original name ‘Herrental’ was restored.