»The Disavowed. Victims of National Socialism 1933 – 1945 – Today« will be on display from 9 October 2025 to 4 January 2026 at the NS Documentation Centre of the City of Cologne, Appellhofplatz 23–25, 50667 Cologne. The exhibition is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 11 am to 6 pm.
The exhibition commemorates people who were persecuted under National Socialism as »asocials« and »career criminals«. Their experiences take centre stage. Between 1933 and 1945, the authorities and police capitalised on social prejudices. They control, harass and deprive tens of thousands of their freedom. Many are murdered.
The Federal Republic of Germany, the GDR and Austria refused to compensate those affected. Their experiences of injustice are denied.
In February 2020, the German Parliament decided: »No one was rightfully imprisoned in a concentration camp; even those persecuted as ›asocials‹ and ›career criminals‹ were victims of National Socialist reign of terror«. In the context of this decision, the parliament commissioned the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial to create an exhibition. It represents one of the most important remembrance projects of the decade in the Federal Republic of Germany.
After its opening presentation in Berlin, the exhibition moved to the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial from 20 March to 14 September 2025. Approximately 12,500 interested visitors were welcomed there. The exhibition attracted around a third more visitors to the memorial than in the previous year.
Pictures from the kick-off launch in Berlin, 2024
