Young historians looking for traces: Weimar and the moving beech forest!

Young historians looking for traces: Weimar and the moving beech forest!

The management of the seminar took over Ines Gerke-Weipert from the Biggesee and Leander Vierschilling Academy, a retired history teacher who was supported by the young participants with his extensive knowledge. The enthusiasm for historical topics, which was also expressed in Gut visited AG, was noticeable.

an unforgettable trip to Weimar

The group had the opportunity to visit the National Mahn and Memorial Buchenwald- a place that was also used by the GDR government to political instrumentalization of the past. The young people were particularly affected by the presentation of the events that were shown in the memorial. It was emphasized that the camp was freed by communists and socialists, while the fate of Jews, Sinti and Roma remained almost completely hidden. Many participants described their sensations as "deeply disturbed" after this leadership.

The emotional highlight of the visit was the crematorium, whose dark history and reports on the atrocities of the SS moved strongly. These experiences left a lasting impression and contributed to the fact that interest in historical topics continued to grow.

a multifaceted program

Weimar was not only valued as a city of contradictions of various eras and ideologies, but also for their extensive seminar program. The city tours included not only the Weimar classic, but also the house of the Weimar Republic and the dark time of the National Socialist past. Such arguments with history are not only important locally, but also play a role in the nationwide discussion about the mediation of culture of remembrance.

At the national level, memorial sites are increasingly becoming important educational institutions and are confronted with challenges that range from increasing anti -Semitism incidents to political containers. As Memorial Forum.de called. The need to further strengthen the culture of remembrance remains a hot topic.

support and challenges

memorials such as Buchenwald are not only faced with the challenge of dealing with the temporal distance to the Nazi crimes, but also with the increasingly dwindling number of contemporary witnesses. The dialogue about mandatory visits to school in concentration camp memorials is becoming more important, but the need for qualified support is emphasized here.

The study trip of the St.-Ursula-Gymnasium shows how important it is to show young people the dangers of fate of the past. Such engagement is absolutely necessary to compete against the increasing currents of nationalism and falsification of history.

Overall, it should be noted that Weimar is an impressive place for dealing with German history, as is the Buchenwald memorial, which, like Weimar.de , has important educational offers available for the memory of the wrong to keep awake.