On 16 July 2026, 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Michael Bergmann spoke at Geretsried Grammar School about his life under Nazi persecution. As a child, he was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto and Concentration Camp, where he was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945.
© Sharon Victor Suárez
The initiative for the event came from the students themselves, who had expressed a wish to meet a Holocaust survivor. Through the school’s parents’ council, this request reached the BADEHAUS Place of Remembrance, which arranged the contact with Bergmann and organized the event. More than 300 students from grades 9, 11, and 12, as well as a seminar group of trainee teachers, attended the conversation with great interest.
The event was moderated by Rhiannon Moutafis, Research Associate at the BADEHAUS Memorial Site. She guided the discussion with Bergmann, who was born in 1936 in Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). He spoke about his imprisonment in Theresienstadt, his journey to the Jewish Displaced Persons camp Föhrenwald (today the Wolfratshausen district of Waldram) in 1951, and the process of rebuilding his life in Munich.
Bergmann illustrated how deeply these experiences continue to affect him by recalling the daily roll calls in the concentration camp: “In the Theresienstadt Ghetto, even children like me had to attend roll call. We had to stand there for several hours. Many people collapsed. Whether from exhaustion or because they had died—I don’t know.”
Afterwards, the floor was opened to questions from the audience. The many contributions reflected the students’ keen interest. They asked Michael Bergmann whether memories of his imprisonment still accompany him in everyday life and how the hunger he experienced in the camp differed from ordinary hunger today. They also turned to the present, asking how he viewed today’s culture of remembrance and, as a survivor of Nazi persecution, how he assessed the current political climate and the rise of antisemitism.
© Sharon Victor Suárez
At the end of the event, Michael Bergmann left the students with a clear message: “Live in the present and think about the future—but never forget the past.”
As the official partner of the “School Without Racism – School With Courage” network, the BADEHAUS Memorial Site supports Geretsried Grammar School in promoting civic courage and keeping the memory of the past alive. Headmaster Thomas Wendl praised the event: “It was an outstanding example and a fitting beginning to our ‘School Without Racism – School With Courage’ partnership—because it truly was a courageous talk.”
For the BADEHAUS Place of Remembrance, facilitating encounters like this is a vital contribution to civic and historical education. Hearing directly from Holocaust survivors makes history tangible and strengthens young people’s commitment to democracy. The cooperation with Geretsried Grammar School extends well beyond individual events: students regularly visit the museum in Waldram to take part in workshops and guided tours.
The BADEHAUS Memorial Site would like to express its sincere gratitude to Michael Bergmann for his openness and to Geretsried Grammar School for its trusting and productive cooperation.