Today, major sporting events like the UEFA European Football Championship and the FIFA World Cup are more than just athletic competitions. They are accompanied by an extensive program of cultural events that address societal discussions surrounding the sport.

The "Football and Remembrance" project pursued this very goal in 2024; initiated on the occasion of UEFA EURO 2024, it was commissioned by the DFB Cultural Foundation and carried out by the non-profit organization "what matters" in cooperation with the World Jewish Congress (WJC).

The high profile of football during the tournament served to draw attention to the sport's history—a history with numerous links to the times of National Socialism. Across the country—and particularly near the ten host cities—21 memorial sites and museums, as well as various clubs, participated by hosting specific events that were listed on this bilingual website footballandremembrance.de. 

International guests, along with sports and history enthusiasts in Germany, were invited to look at the history of National Socialism through the prism of sport, extending beyond the EURO 2024 matches themselves.

A look at the various offerings reveals the many ways in which connections to sport and football can be used to convey the history of the Nazi era. Tracing the history of Jewish members of FC Schalke 04 is just one of many examples showing how German clubs can use their own history as a gateway to understanding the persecution of Jewish people.

 

The Nazi Forced Labor Documentation Centre in Berlin-Schöneweide offered a fresh perspective on forced laborers from various countries who, despite their captivity in Berlin during that period, also appeared on the pitch as footballers. At the Dachau, Neuengamme, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen memorial sites, visitors were able to explore the phenomenon of football in concentration camps—something that comes as a surprise to many—and reflected on the significance that sport held for the prisoners. The exhibition “Sport.Crowds.Power: Football under the Nazis” was also part of the program.

 

This exhibition was a flagship project of the State of Berlin’s cultural program for EURO 2024 and is now touring across Germany. It creates a space for discussing the power of sport—both as a force for inclusion and for exclusion—in the past and present.

The activities offered by the memorial sites as part of the "Football and Remembrance" project not only frequently provide an alternative entry point into the history of National Socialism but, thanks to their specific thematic focus, also appeal to new target audiences—such as fan groups, sports clubs, and their teams—for educational work and remembrance regarding the Nazi era.

 

This comprehensive program was made possible only because, for over two decades, various initiatives and many dedicated individuals within clubs, fan groups, and memorial sites have sought to harness the potential of linking sport with remembrance projects. 

Read more about football-related remembrance activities over the past 20 years in an article "Fußball und Erinnerung" in the magazine Gedenkstättenrundbrief by Dr. Andreas Kahrs, historian and co-managing director of what matters gGmbH.

Continuing the "Football and Remembrance" platform aims to strengthen existing initiatives and support the network's further growth.

While individual sporting events like EURO 2024 and the FIFA World Cup generate temporary attention for the topic, the greatest potential for sustainable educational work lies in long-term, continuous engagement with clubs and fan groups. Over the past few years, many projects have emerged in this area that have successfully established ongoing links between the landscape of memorial sites to the one of sports.