memory meets future English

Partners:
Documentation Center Prora
Hansa-Gymnasium Stralsund,
Asociación Las Niñas del Tul, Granada,
Nikolaus-Lenau-Lyzeum („German Special Department (DAS)“), Timișoara/Romania (European Capital of Culture 2023)
Gimnazija Nova Gorica/Slovenia (European Capital of Culture 2025)

We invited eight youths from each of our project partners to Berlin and Prora for a week of encounters, exchange, and getting to know people, places of remembrance, and history within the „Memory Meets Future“ project.

Project Description:

We partnered with organizations from both Western and Eastern Europe. The project focused on political and historical topics such as Nazi history, the ideology of exclusion and persecution of people, the history of the Berlin Wall during the GDR era, overcoming boundaries on various levels, and reflecting on Western and Eastern German perspectives after the fall of the Wall. We explored dealing with Nazi history and the social consequences of reunification, as well as cultural diversity today as an enrichment. The project emphasized historical interconnections and culture of remembrance and explored what unites us. Content-wise, the project focused on remembrance as a constructive element for the future, engaging with history in everyday life, the coexistence of ethnic and religious minorities, and democracy education measures. Overcoming boundaries and building bridges over social divides were explored as practical methods. In view of current right-wing populist and extremist political developments, digitally spread conspiracy theories, and rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, democratic values are not self-evident and need to be protected and strengthened.

The partner organizations come from locations with historically significant backgrounds, making them suitable for deepening historical knowledge from multiple perspectives and enriching the project content-wise.

The project is planned as a series with rotating locations, allowing all partners to explore the specific historical and political contexts firsthand. The circle of participating partners is open to additional interested organizations.

The project started on September 23 in Berlin. After all participants arrived, we began with a guided walk through Spandauer Vorstadt, where until 1933 much Jewish life was visible. We visited the former „Neue Synagoge,“ now home to the Centrum Judaicum. The building that once housed a Jewish girls‘ school stands on Auguststraße, near the Jewish hospital, which was temporarily used as a Jewish orphanage named „Ahawa“ (Love) during the Nazi era. From here, some children were saved thanks to the courageous efforts of individuals like Beate Berger and Hanni Ullmann. Along the way, we passed St. Hedwig Catholic Hospital, where some provided aid to persecuted Jews. In the same street is the Sophienkirche, the Moses Mendelsohn Jewish High School, and a former Jewish elderly home, converted by the Nazis into a collection camp, from where many Jews of all ages were deported to ghettos and concentration camps. Only the reconstructed foundations remain. Next to it is Berlin’s oldest Jewish cemetery.

We also attended the guided tour at the Otto Weidt Workshop for the Blind Museum, located in authentic workshop rooms. The museum tells the story of Otto Weidt, who declared his workshop essential for the Wehrmacht, allowing visually impaired Jewish people temporary employment. The museum also vividly presents the brutal persecution of Jews in Berlin in these rooms.

After a walk to the government district in the evening, we saw the film and light projection at the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus about the history of democracy in Germany.

Day 2:

After an introductory session, teams were formed. The task was to create daily photo/video diaries and engage with questions about the historical sites and their personal significance. Our first outing was to the Topography of Terror Foundation, a site where key Nazi institutions, such as the Gestapo and SS, had offices and the Gestapo’s house prison. A special exhibition, „The Nazis Were Not Simply Gone,“ prompted reflection on dealing with perpetrators and crimes after 1945.

A highlight was the Trialog workshop with Israeli and Palestinian partners, organized by „Gesellschaft im Wandel e.V.“ The workshop is a multi-perspective discussion format addressing the Middle East conflict, aiming to make the topic approachable, allow different viewpoints, and seek understanding.

In the evening, we visited the „Refugio“ in Kreuzberg/Neukölln, a project offering a meeting place for refugees who arrived in Berlin since 2015. We heard a refugee story from a Syrian narrator and gained insight into everyday life at the accommodation, enjoying a spectacular view of Berlin rooftops at dusk.

Day 3:

The bike tour through Berlin lasted the entire day. Highlights included visiting historical and memorial sites as well as places of political significance: the government district with the installation „Grundgesetz 49“ at Jakob-Kaiser-Haus, displaying human rights articles 1–19 from the German Basic Law, the memorial for Reichstag members murdered by the Nazis, the Sinti and Roma Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, the Soviet War Memorial, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe with an underground exhibition, the memorial to homosexual victims of National Socialism, the memorial and information center for victims of Nazi „euthanasia“ murders, the Georg Elser Monument, Bebelplatz with the memorial to book burnings, Museum Island, the Women’s Protest 1943 memorial on Rosenstraße, and Alexanderplatz.

Some participants visited the East Side Gallery in the evening.

Day 4:

On the last morning in Berlin, we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial, explored the site using an app, and familiarized ourselves with the history of the Berlin Wall. Experiencing historical objects like wall segments firsthand illustrates their significance more vividly than photos.

 

In the afternoon, we took the train to Prora on the island of Rügen with fantastic weather.

Day 5:

The day began with a guided tour of the „KdF-Seebad“ grounds, from the ruins at the northern end of the complex through various buildings to the Documentation Center Prora in the center. The afternoon was dedicated to research in the exhibitions. Teams worked on digital presentations of the historical sites and discussed remembrance questions that evolved daily.

The day concluded with the film „With Love, Your Hilde,“ about Hilde Coppi, who was executed by the Nazis as a political opponent.

Day 6:

For the excursion to Stralsund, students from Hansa-Gymnasium prepared an interesting tour highlighting special sites and their favorite places in the city. Sites included the Langenstraße Synagogue location, the so-called Jewish memorial stele commemorating the almost entirely destroyed Jewish community in 1988, over 80 Stolpersteine honoring people persecuted and murdered by the Nazis (mostly from the Jewish community), St. Johannis Monastery, the Old Market, and more.

With the support of the Jewish Life Association in Stralsund, we met Friedrike Fechner, who researched the history of her house and discovered the story of the Jewish Blach family during the Nazi era. Many family members did not survive the Holocaust. Her extensive research, including locating descendants, was documented in a film shown during the meeting.

In the afternoon, teams discussed and visualized their reflections in creative presentations.

Day 7:

On the final day, teams presented their work in a large group, producing excellent contributions.

The student group presentations can be viewed here:

This one is from the Hansa-Gymnasium Stralsund:

Slovenian students created a PowerPoint presentation, viewable here as a video:

Spanish students created a PDF documentation of the week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the Romanian students created this PDF:

The rest of the day was spent visiting the treetop walkway in Prora, enjoying spectacular views over the island and the fully restored white „KdF-Seebad“ complex, now featuring holiday apartments.

Although it was windy, we still enjoyed a barbecue to conclude the week. The next day, all teams returned home, marking the end of this intensive week of encounters and exchange. We met wonderful people, engaged in deep discussions, and learned new things. We look forward to continuing next year in Timișoara. Participants from Timișoara have already created this welcome video: