“Modern culture of remembrance” in the District of Düren: “Dance Theater” over the graves of the war dead at the military cemetery in Vossenack is not a criminal offense (Published on 16/09/2025)
As is well known, the District of Düren and the district association of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. organized a so-called »dance theater« at the military cemetery in Vossenack on the occasion of Remembrance Day (»Volkstrauertag«) 2023, in the context of which pupils from the neighboring Franziskus-Gymnasium were dancing to loud music in the dark on stages installed directly above the graves under colorful lighting of the facility, while numerous spectators were trampling over the graves.
The incident was reported to the authorities on suspicion of disturbing the peace of the dead (sec. 168 (2) of the German Criminal Code (»StGB«)) and denigrating the memory of the deceased (sec. 189 StGB).
The Aachen Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Cologne General Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ministry of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia do not consider the »dance theater« to be a criminal offense.
A report is available here.
(Head picture: German military cemetery Vossenack,
October 2023)
Further articles on the topic “‘Modern culture of remembrance’ in the District of Düren”:
- The removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (03/10/2021)
- Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge NRW on the removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (17/06/2022)
- News on the removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (23/08/2022)
- The “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” (“Beauftragter für die Betreuung der Kriegsgräberstätten Vossenack und Hürtgen als Orte einer demokratischen Erinnerungs- und Gedenkkultur”) (16/11/2022)
- The ban on laying flowers and candles at the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack (12/02/2023)
- Administrative Court Aachen denies grant of a preliminary order against the District of Düren “flower ban”, appeal to the Higher Administrative Court (23/03/2023)
- Laying of wreaths by the Administrator of the District of Düren at the Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack on Remembrance Day 2022 – or: Quod licet iovi, non licet bovi?(21/04/2023)
- District of Düren denies “flower ban” on Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest to press and media (13/05/2023)
- “Flower ban” of the District of Düren on the Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest: Higher Administrative Court of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia rejects the appeal against the denial of urgent legal protection (03/07/2023)
- Administration out of control – District now also bans photos of the fallen in uniform at Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest (18/08/2023)
- The “permanent exhibition” on the Hürtgen war cemetery (20/12/2023)
- The removal of the memorial stone for Julius Erasmus by the District in September 2022 (06/02/2024)
- The distortion of remembrance on the national Remembrance Day (“Volkstrauertag”) (21/04/2024)
- The “Dance Theater” over the graves of the war dead at the military cemetery in Vossenack on the occasion of Remembrance Day (“Volkstrauertag”) 2023 (19/08/2024)
- The statement of the President of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. on the “Dance Theater” at the military cemetery in Vossenack on the occasion of Remembrance Day 2023 – a “fact check” (13/11/2024)
- Information from the District administration on “incidents with a right-wing extremist background” at the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack and on “violations” of the cemetery rules (13/03/2025)
- The “flower ban” by the District of Düren on the German military cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest before the State Constitutional Court of Northrhine-Westfalia (30/04/2025)
- “Flower ban”, “dance theater” and the Geneva Conventions (22/05/2025)
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