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The Commission has yet to receive a response from their counterpart Commission.

Discussion over Historical Remembrance at Osnabrück's Museum District

The Commission has yet to receive a response from the Commission.
The Commission has yet to receive a response from the Commission.

The Commission has yet to receive a response from their counterpart Commission.

On October 7, at 7:00 PM, the Osnabrück Museum Quarter will host a thought-provoking public conversation about Hans Georg Calmeyer. This event, which is free for all, will delve into the complexities of Calmeyer's character and the role of the media in interpreting his legacy.

Hans Georg Calmeyer was a lawyer in the German occupying administration in the Netherlands from 1941 to 1944. During this time, he was responsible for deciding the status of "Aryan", "Jew", or "Mixed Race" in "racial doubt cases". Through his actions, nearly 3,000 persecuted individuals were able to escape deportation. However, Calmeyer was also complicit in Nazi terror, and there are cases where he bears responsibility for the deaths of other Jews.

Rainer Lahmann-Lammert, a journalist affiliated with the DJV (German Journalists Association) in Lower Saxony, has been following the cultural debate surrounding Hans Georg Calmeyer for many years. As an editor of the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, he has reported on the late public attention given to Calmeyer, including his posthumous honor by Yad Vashem as a "Righteous Among the Nations". He has also covered critical voices that have pointed out the ambiguities in Calmeyer's actions.

The public conversation will feature journalist Rainer Lahmann-Lammert and historian and curator Dr. Thorsten Heese. The event will focus on the person of Hans Georg Calmeyer, but also on the present: How is memory shaped? What responsibility do the media have in conveying history? And how do we deal with biographies that defy clear moral evaluation?

Admission to the event is free, and it will take place in the event hall. Rainer Lahmann-Lammert has also reported on the awarding of the Justus Möser Medal by the city of Osnabrück to Hans Georg Calmeyer, which has added another layer to the ongoing debate. This public conversation promises to be an enlightening exploration of a significant historical figure and the challenges of historical interpretation.

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