German soccer club SV Werder Bremen remembered slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on the first anniversary of his death in a Sunday social media post.
The post showed the tifo that German fans displayed during the opening game of Bundesliga 2024-2025.
“SV Werder remembers Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” the post reads. “This is the first anniversary of the Jewish death of Hersh, who Hamas murdered along with five other hostages after eleven months of captivity. You remain in our hearts, achi!”
Alongside the post, there was a photo of Werder Bremen fans holding a giant photo of Goldberg-Polin, who was a big fan of soccer and the German club in particular.
SV Werder Bremen also has a standing tradition of support for the Jewish people and Israel; its fans displayed signs against antisemitism after the November 2024 pogrom of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam.
“Solidarity with those affected by anti-Semitic violence! Let us retreat once again from the pogroms!” read signs held by the club's fans that were later shared by Israel's official X/Twitter account.
Jerusalem honors Hersh Goldberg-Polin, ‘beautiful six’ slain hostages
A memorial ceremony for slain hostage Hersh took place on Tuesday in Jerusalem, marking one year since the Hebrew date of his murder by Hamas and those of five additional Israeli hostages, known as the “beautiful six.”
The six hostages murdered in a tunnel by the terror group after being held captive for 328 days were Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino.
Their bodies were found by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel in August of last year. Autopsies showed that they had endured horrific conditions, including torture and starvation.
The memorial event was non-political and described by the family as a night for “prayer, remembrance, song, and love.”
Keshet Neev contributed to this report.