International Event Series Honors Victims of Bombing Worldwide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Berlin, Germany – April 24, 2025 – On May 11, 2025, the Anti-War Museum in Berlin will host the inaugural event of Four Days in May, an international commemoration honoring victims of aerial bombings across history—from Warsaw (1939) and Rotterdam (1940) to contemporary conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. The event series will culminate in the unveiling of the world’s first Anti-Bombing Treaty, a groundbreaking initiative calling for a global ban on the production, storage, use, and transfer of aerial bombs.
Event Highlights
Berlin, May 11
- Opening Ceremony + Panel discussion Stop Bombings Now
(Anti War Museum, 9:00–10:00)
Opening by Erik van Loon (Rotterdam-based initiator of Four Days in May) and Tommy Spree, Director of the Anti-War Museum. After the opening Spree and Van Loon will talk how we can stop the bomb. - Signing of the Anti-Bombing Treaty
(Anti War Museum, 10:00–11:00)
Presentation and signing of the world first Anti-Bombing Treaty. - Poetry Cycle
(start Checkpoint Charlie, 13:00-15:00)
At 12.00 the Poetry Cycle will traverse Berlin’s historic landmarks—Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, and more—concluding at the Brecht-Weigel-Haus. - Helene Weigel’s 125th birthday
(Brecht-Weigel Haus, 15.00-18.00)
At the Brecht-Weigel-Haus they will join the Helene Weigel’s 125th birthday celebration organised by the Bertolt Brecht Archive and Literatur Forum at Brecht Haus. - Helene Weigel Tribute
(Berliner Ensemble, 18.30-21.00)
After the 125th birthday celebration they will join a big Helene Weigel tribute organised by the Berliner Ensemble. - Open Podium
(Bertolt Brecht Statue, 21.00-22.00)
The day closes with an Open Podium at Bertolt Brecht’s statue, inviting public recitals of anti-war poetry, stories and songs.
International Commemoration Schedule
- Warsaw May 12.
On Monday, they will take the Poetry Train (5.51-11.10) from Berlin HBF to Warsaw Zachodnia. In Warsaw they will have a lunch before they visit the Warsaw Uprise Museum to learn about the devastating Black Monday (13.00-14.00) bombings on September 25, 1939. After this lecture the Polish Anti-Bombing Treaty will be presented. After the treaty, a guided tour will learn them about the heroic Warsaw Uprise (14.00-15.00). At 15.00 they move to the Polin Museum to learn more about the inhumane conditions in the Warsaw Getto (16.00-17.00). The evening lecture is dedicated to the legacy of the influential Polish theatre director Konrad Swinarski (20.00-21.00). He passed away exactly fifty years ago. Like in Berlin, the day will end with an Open Podium (21.00-22.00) this time people can recite, read, or sing anti war and peace stories, poems, and songs on different places along the old city wall. - Hengelo May 13.
On Tuesday, they will take the Poetry Train (7.00-18.10) from Warsaw Centralina to Station Hengelo. At Station Hengelo they organise a Poetry Walk (18.15-20.00). A guide will show us the remnants of the heavily bombed city. During the Poetry Walk local poets will recite their work on different spots. Before boarding the Poetry Train to Rotterdam they will make a stop at the St. Lambertus Basilica to light a candle in memory of the 107 victims who fell during the bombings from October 1944 onward. - Rotterdam May 14.
On Wednesday, they will visit Tante Nino for a lecture about the first Four Days In May (10.00-11.00). After this lecture the Dutch Anti Bombing Treaty (11.00-12.00) will be presented. At 13:27 – the moment when the first bombs fell – three minutes of silence will be observed at 85 street corners along the Brandgrens. Immediately after the 85th Commemoration (13.30-13.35) start. After everyone recited the poem “Und Was Bekam Des Soldaten Weib?” a Poetry Cycle (15.00-17.00) along the 12,5 km long Brandgrens will start. At Lunchroom Broodje Aap poet Miguel Santos, dramatist Alain Pringels and artist Erik van Loon will talk 60 minutes (19.00-20.00) about Bertolt Brechts poem ‘Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?’. After the talk Dj. Okkie Vijfvinkel will give a special Radio Oranje (20.00-21.00) show. The Four Days In May commemoration will end with an Open Podium (21.00-22.00) at the ‘National Monument for the Merchant Navy’.
Background
Since 2015, Dutch artist Erik van Loon has organized a unique commemoration in Rotterdam: every year, citizens recite poems at street corners along the historic Brandgrens. In 2015 at 75 street corners, in 2025 at 85 street corners. Each year one more street corner until participants are standing “hand-in-hand” along the 12,5 km long Brandgrens. In 2024, this concept was extended internationally for the first time when Gregory Corso’s poem “Vision of Rotterdam” took center stage and commemorations were organized in Rome, Zurich, Paris, and Rotterdam. This year, Bertolt Brecht’s poem ‘Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?‘ underscores the growing momentum for peace advocacy, anchored by the unprecedented Anti-Bombing Treaty.
Quotes
“This treaty is a call to humanity: bombs shatter lives indiscriminately. We must act now to outlaw these weapons of terror.”
– Erik van Loon, Founder, Four Days in May
“The Anti-War Museum stands with global citizens demanding an end to the cycle of violence. History must not repeat.”
– Tommy Spree, Director, Anti-War Museum
Media Access & Registration
Full schedules, registration, and treaty details:
- Rotterdam: www.14mei.nl
- Berlin: www.antikriegsmuseum.de
Press Contacts:
- Erik van Loon | Stichting 14 Mei | stichting14mei@gmail.com | +31 6 3826 5666
- Tommy Spree | Anti-War Museum | info@anti-kriegs-museum.de | +49 30 4028691