New memorial markers at 13 rail sites in Germany document crimes committed under National Socialism. The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media announced on 10 November 2026 that the projects funded through MemoRails had put their work in place at the sites. The DB Museum in Nuremberg will bring the results together from 13 November. The markers will remain at the sites after the exhibition closes. Federal government announcement
Key facts
- The federal government provided a one-off €1 million for the programme. The Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future contributed €100,000.
- Deutsche Bahn helped install the markers and will take responsibility for their upkeep at the stations.
- The exhibition in Nuremberg runs from 13 November 2026 to 28 February 2027.
What the projects document at rail sites
The federal government and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) launched the grant programme in 2025. Associations, education providers, memorial institutions and municipalities investigated the history of individual places. The DB Museum says stations were points of departure and arrival for deportation and forced labour. Some people also tried to escape persecution from them. The projects examine the experiences of those persecuted and the role of the people and institutions involved in the crimes.
The work varies according to the history of each site. These are three examples from the 13 funded projects:
| Rail site | Local organisation | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Meppen | Meppen adult education centre | Deportations to the Emsland camps |
| Birkenwerder | Schlaglicht e.V. | The life of Jewish survivor Ruth Winkelmann |
| Cottbus | Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus e.V. | Deportation and forced labour |
In Meppen, the adult education centre developed a town trail, teaching materials and art workshops alongside the marker. The EVZ foundation documents the memorial at the station and describes its role between 1939 and 1945, when prisoners and forced labourers were transported from there. In Birkenwerder, children and teenagers researched Nazi-era history along the Nordbahn railway. Ruth Winkelmann’s life gives the project a way to show how exclusion and persecution shaped everyday life.
The government’s project list also includes work by the Sinti-Allianz Deutschland NRW at Köln-Deutz station, which focuses on 12 stories of persecution and deportation. A project in Königstein examines forced labour in Saxon Switzerland. At Park am Gleisdreieck in Berlin, the Jugend Museum is working with young people to investigate traces of Nazi-era history in the area they see today.
What visitors will find in Nuremberg
The exhibition places the local projects in the wider history of the Deutsche Reichsbahn under National Socialism. Large display panels describe selected projects in detail. Visitors can use QR codes to open further digital material on individual stories. The display makes work from different parts of Germany accessible in one place for the duration of the exhibition.
The DB Museum will open the exhibition at 6 p.m. on 12 November at Lessingstraße 6. Representatives from two funded projects will present their work at the opening. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The two-hour opening event is free and requires registration through the EVZ foundation. The exhibition opens to museum visitors on 13 November. At the rail sites, the memorial markers will remain in public space.
