The Bautzen-Committee was founded shortly after the end of
the "German Democratic Republic" by former inmates of the Bautzen prisons and
their relatives.
Its aim was the exploration of the crime of the communist tyranny and the
preserve of the remembrance of the suffering of the many innocent victims of
the prison. So i. e. the Committee organized from 1992-1994 together with the
German War Graves Commission and with the help of the German Army the search
for the remains of the thousand of victims, who died there and where buried in
unmaked mass graves outside of the prison on a hill called Karnickelberg
(Rabbit Hill). The remains of 184 corpses could be found in a short time but
finally the work had to be closed in view of more than 10 m of rubble, garbage
and boulder the East German police placed on the graves.
Today the remains of 248 victims of Communist dictatorship, who died in the
Bautzen prisons now rest in a new cemetery in ten rows of graves and there is
also a memorial chapel, where friends and relatives can remember the victims
in a dignified way. The site also commemorates the dead who can no longer be
located. That is a result of the work of the Bautzen-Committee as well.
Another important work is to help and advice former prisoner or their
surviving dependents to get their justice and a finacial compensation. We work
in close cooperation with the staff of the
Bautzen
memorial, who create a permanent exhibition of the historical periods of
the prison.
Together with the annual Bautzen-Forum of the
Friedrich-Ebert-Donation we have the annual meeting of the members of the
Committee.
More than 40 years of political prosecution and imprisonment under the
communist regime left us a huge work to do, for which we need any support and
helping hand. We are a charitable corporation. Donation can be make to the
Bautzen-Komitee, # 6100523, BLZ: 870 700 00 and are 100% tax-deductible in
Germany. If you want to join us, you can reach us by the following address:
Bautzen-Komitee e.V.
Weigangstraße 8 a
02625Bautzen
E-Mail: buero at bautzen-komitee.de
phone: 03591 42521
fax: 03591 3189929
