Funding programme of the Foundation EVZ

Documentation International youth projects 2008/2009 DOCUMENTATION 2008/2009

Projects for the year 2008/2009 which were supported by the funding programme for international exchange between schools and youth or- ganisations from Germany and Central Europe, Eastern Europe, South- eastern Europe or Israel

Europeans for Peace

© 2009 Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”

Editors: Heide Lübge, Ulrike Daniel (MitOst e.V.), Sonja Böhme, Nadine Reimer, Franka Kühn (Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”) | Photos: pictures from the funded projects, Jan Zappner, ullstein bild – sodapix, dpa (page 24) | Translation: Alison Borrowman | Layout: die superpixel, Leipzig | Printed by: PögeDruck, Leipzig CONTENT

Introduction 5 Günter Saathoff, Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”

Examples of Projects in 2008/2009 9

The Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility 22 and Future”

MitOst e.V. 23

Current topic 24

2 3 preface

Dear readers,

for the fourth time, young people from 22 different countries developed and implemented international projects of a sophisticated thematic stand­ ard together. The EUROPEANS FOR PEACE funding programme of the Foun­ dation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (Foundation EVZ) pro­ vided the framework for those projects in the 2008/2009 programme year. Since 2002 the foundation has supported international projects that keep alive the discussion of National-Socialist injustice and promote interna­ tional understanding and the defence of human rights in the present day. Those ac­ tivities include this funding programme, which is directed at young people from Germany and from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe or from Israel. Partnerships between schools or non-school educational institutions bring young people together to explore specific issues, ad­ dressing in particular the history of European injustice in the 20th century and conditions for the preservation of peace, democracy and human rights since 1945.

The theme of this year’s call for applications – “Origin and Diversity” – inspired many partner­ ships to explore, for instance, the relationship between the history of individual families and 20th European century history or to examine problems associated with the coexistence of dif­ ferent cultures or ethnicities. The young participants came up with a wide range of answers to the questions “Where do we come from?” and “Where are we going?” They addressed topics like forced resettlement, flight and expulsion, and they tackled issues like racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Participants located interesting and interested eye-witnesses who had experi­ enced flight, exile or emigration first hand and were able to open up new perspectives for the students – and often for the project directors as well. Reflecting the funding programme’s mot­ to “Looking back – moving forward”, partnerships adopted either a historical or a present-day perspective, or a combination of both, for the implementation of their project ideas for the first time in this programme year.

4 5 Once again, the project results are very impressive. The best projects – selected from a total of 71 partnerships funded by Foundation EVZ – are presented in detail in this report. So you can read, for example, about young people from Berlin and Hosman, Romania, who prepared a the­ atrical performance inspired by the play Andorra by Max Frisch. The character of Andrei, whose social origins cause him to be the victim of social ostracism, inspired the young Roma and non- Roma participants to focus on the relationship between minorities and majorities in Europe. You will learn about a German-Polish project partnership that examined the dual expulsion of Ger­ mans and Poles, taking the city of Gollnow/Goleniów as its example. Eye-witnesses from both countries related their memories of forced labour, flight and expulsion. Participants created a bilingual project newspaper, intended to be read in their schools and beyond.

We are pleased with the results of all of the projects and with the level of commitment shown by the young people themselves and by the men and women who directed the projects, and we would like to offer them all our most sincere congratulations for their achievements. We would also like to thank the staff of MitOst e.V., who once again showed great commitment and crea­ tivity in implementing the funding programme in cooperation with the Foundation EVZ, and ex­ press our gratitude to the jury members and to our media partner, Deutsche Welle.

Günter Saathoff, Member of the board of the foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”

6 7 examples of projects

» I am keen to promote the study and analysis of 20th century Eu­ Examples of projects in the ropean history. Young people in particular have to learn from the struggle for peace, democracy and human rights in the past. For EUROPEANS FOR PEACE programme they are the ones who are gradually taking on responsibility and will shape the future. I would like to sincerely thank the Founda­ tion “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” for initiating this “Where do we come from? Where are we going? How diverse was and is Europe in its people, significant programme five years ago. « cultures and history?” Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and patron of EUROPEANS FOR PEACE These and other questions were the focus of 71 international school and youth projects in the 2008/2009 programme year of the EUROPEANS FOR PEACE funding programme. Young partici­ pants from Germany and from Central, Eastern or South Eastern Europe or from Israel opted to use a historical or a present-day approach, or a combination of the two, to address the theme of “Origin and Diversity” in a project. Some project groups investigated the biographies of people whose lives were changed by their experience of flight, expulsion, exile and/or forced labour or labour migration. Others looked in­ to present-day problems, the stories behind migration or manifestations of social diversity.

The projects were carried out by joint partnerships of schools or institutions who are actively involved in international youth work. Each project included one partner from Germany and one or more from a Central, Eastern or Southeastern European country or Israel. The project work culminated in meetings of the partner groups in their respective countries, which lasted several days. The central aspect of each project was the dialogue between the young participants and the historical witnesses or those people whose life stories they had focused upon.

At a festive ceremony held in Berlin in December of 2009, six examples of the 2008/2009 part­ nerships presented the results of their projects publicly. The following pages will provide you with a view of their cross-border project work, their aims and the results of their cooperative efforts.

8 9 examples of projects » I have learned to work in a group and to listen to other people’s In rehearsals and at the perform­ opinions, which might be better »  What makes working who is andrei? – the country within me ance, Andrei went through twenty than mine. Calina »  « with young people Young Roma and non-Roma in Germany and Romania reflect on heads and twenty bodies and special is their curiosi­ their situation in life spoke in twenty voices. Every ty and eagerness to member of the ensemble played experiment and to Andrei in one scene, imagining minorities and majorities in Europe. They in­ play. Their own ques­ Projektpartner Where do I come from, who am I, what do I and embodying his or her own vestigated a range of different social roles and tions about identity, Spree-Agenten think about myself, what do I want to be like? interpretation of that character. experimented inquisitively with masks, cos­ « their future, about e.V., Berlin (D) Am I the way other people think I am? Why do Susanne Chrudina, project director tumes, movement and language. The village what it means to be they ignore some parts of me? Am I really only Communication went smoothly: of Hosman was transformed into a theatrical » an outsider. Sustainable the sum of my biographical coordinates? I had the feeling we were speaking « performing and viewing space, whose collages Branka Pavlovic´, workshop leader Hosman the same language. Simon of scenes provoked interest and inspired dis­ « Association, These are questions that 16 young people cussion. The young people documented their We worked together like Hosman (RO) from Berlin and Hosman asked themselves »  work in a video and created a catalogue with a family. Mihai together and to which they also found very « photographs and texts. personal responses in the preparation of a play about the character Andrei. In a work inspired by the play Andorra by Max Frisch, Andrei suffers social ostracism due to his eth­ nic origins, experiencing prejudice and dis­ crimination from the people of his commu­ nity. Andrei, in the search for his identity, served the Roma and non-Roma participants as a mirror enabling them to reflect their indi­ vidual situations. The character inspired them to examine their own identity, their role in their community and the relationship between

The project participants from Romania and Germany created masks for their collages of scenes

10 11 examples of projects

Bosnian and German young people got to know each other in intercultural teamwork step by step – stages on the path to understanding and reconciliation German-Bosnian youth encounters on the theme of migration and social diversity During the project encounters, the young par­ Project partners How was it possible to arrange a school part­ ticipants interviewed people who were forced Youth Academy nership between Germany and Bosnia includ­ from their homes in the Yugoslavian wars Walberberg, ing young Germans, Bosnians, Serbians and (1992–1995), some who had since returned Bornheim (D) Muslims? What it required above all else were and some who had not, and examined the co­ people who were ready and willing to take ac­ existence of ethnic majorities and minorities Paths of Peace tion on behalf of others and who did not shy in their every-day lives. The project team pre­ Citizens Associa­ away from many types of problems while do­ sented the results of their work of the themes tion, Bosanska/ ing so. Because even now, fourteen years af­ of war and violence, migration and ethnic and Kozarska ter the end of the war, the co-existence of the religious diversity in a panel exhibit. Dubica (BIH) many different ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not free of conflict, particu­ Although the war left its mark on the lives of larly with regard to the living situation of the many people, this intercultural sensitive co­ Muslim minority. “Nationalism, supported by operation, encompassing youth and project media and in the general public, tries to pre- directors from various ethnic groups as well vent multi-cultural co-existence that is based as their German partners, demonstrates that on equality with opportunities in life for every- understanding and reconciliation are not im­ one”: that is how Reinhard Griep, who was re­ possible aims. There are plans to continue the sponsible for implementation of the project, cooperation and new projects are already be­ assesses the situation in Bosnia and Herze­ ing designed. govina. It was his private engagement on be­ half of Bosnian refugees in the 1990s that ul­ timately led to the development of this school partnership.

12 13 examples of projects

deported and expelled German and Kazakh school students interview eye-witnesses about the loss of their homeland during and after World War II

unfold the way many people want it to, but Project partners For Filipp Filippovich, having lost his home­ can instead be very serious”, said one project Rudolf Steiner land was very difficult at first. “Still, you do participant. Taking the stories of the “Rus­ School forget”, he said, “and in the end you get used sian-Germans” in Kazakhstan as their start­ Gröbenzell, to it.” Filippovich is one of many “Volga Ger­ ing point, the students also looked at the life Gröbenzell (D) mans”, who were deported as children to Ka­ situations of young ethnic-Germans living zakhstan during and after World War II under in Germany. In addition to the interviews, Alexander von Stalin. His biography and the life histories of they used methods associated with drama Humboldt other deportees provided the central focus for education to get closer emotionally to their Secondary the German-Kazakh school project. In face- themes. They compiled the results of their ac­ School No. 12, to-face meetings, the young people learned tivities in a bilingual publication, a DVD and Ust-Kameno­ what meaning words and phrases like home­ an exhibit. gorsk (KZ) land and the loss of homeland held for these victims of forced deportation. “We became EFP PROJECT BLOG aware of what many people had undergone or Wednesday, 12 November 2008 are undergoing in their lives; that life doesn’t Our first assignment at school was to create a list of key terms relating to the subject “homeland”. It was very interesting to see that while the Kazakh students wrote “army” or “president”. Instead, we thought of terms like “Weisswurst” на[Bavarian тему „Родина“. veal sausage] and “Brezn” [pretzel in the Bavarian dialect]. такие ассоциации В школе у нас было в первую очередь задание собрать короткую информацию и понятиями как Интересным оказался тот факт, что у казахских школьников при этом возникли как „армия“ или „президент“. Наши же ассоциации были скорее связаны с таким „вайсвурст“ (варёная телячья колбаса) и „брецн“ (крендель).

Monday, 10 November 2008 This morning we had four eye-witnesses come to visit. One of the women started crying during the introduction already, because her father was arrested when she was four years old and she can no longer recall an image of his face, since she never saw Their emotions about the theme expressed the him again. This made us realize that dealing with emotional mood swingsмён ofрепрессий. that kind Kazakh and German school students in methods is not always easy. ей было всего associated with drama education Сегодня утром у нас в гостях побывали четыре человека, живых свидетеля вре видела. При Одна из женщин заплакала во время её представления. Её отца арестовали, когда четыре года. Она не помнит его лица, так как она своего отца никогда больше не этом мы ощутили, насколько трудно обращаться с такими чувствами. 14 15 examples of projects

origin – what does that mean? German, Jewish and Arab youth examine the topics of flight, expulsion and migration

Project partners “I saw the inquisitive eyes of the young peo- people then presented the different stories of German-Israeli ple, open and ready for understanding” re­ migration in a multilingual exhibit, written Society, Regis­ ported the project director Ilana Elmakayes, documentation and a video. tered Associati­ speaking about the, at times controversial, on, Berlin (D) project for German, Jewish and Arab youth. Ultimately, intensive cooperation, communi­ Ultimately the participants did grow together cation with one another and mutual apprecia­ Regional High into a group – due in no small part to the tion for one another welded the group togeth­ School Amakim- shared topics, interests and objectives associ­ er. An Arab student summed up his experience Tavor in the ated with the project work. The young people as follows: “Starting today I see my hope and Kibbutz Mizra, researched the origins of their own families my dream of peace and brotherhood among Kibbuz and the diverse range of motives behind their the two peoples becoming possible. I believe Mizra (IL) departure from their homelands. They inter­ that we – the young generation – can achieve viewed their grandparents or parents and were that. Our group is an example for that”. High School deeply moved by the various life histories they Iksal, Iksal (IL) uncovered. They heard about the past of Ester Danon-Eilon, who had to flee the National So­ cialists and arrived in Palestine at the age of “Together”, the word appears in our project logo in four languages »  seventeen, or that of the Arab-Israeli Baschar – Arabic, Hebrew, German and English… It stands for understanding Nahas, whose family was forced to leave its among young Jewish, Arab and German people; it represents tole­ village when Israel was founded. They looked rance and respect for other cultures, cooperation, the sharing of ex­ at German stories too though, such as that periences and friendship. The hands that close the rectangle of the of Bernd Jacubasch’s flight from the GDR to words point to the future, to the goal we are aiming at with this Ger­ the Federal Republic of Germany. The young man-Jewish-Arab youth project: hands that meet one another and are firmly clasped. « Magdalene Krumpholz, project director

16 17 examples of projects

historic exploration – gollnow/goleniów (1945–1948) German and Polish youth examine the dual expulsion of Poles and Germans

and Poles played a role in the family histo­ Project partners “History must be cultivated, because it is ries of some of the project participants as Prora Centre, life’s teacher”, Henryk Woźniak exhorted the well. For them, there was great significance Registered young Germans and Poles at the end of the in this confrontation with the German-Polish Association, interview. In 1940, at the age of fifteen, he past in face-to-face conversations with those Bergen (D) was taken from his home and conscripted as affected by it. The young people presented a forced labourer in the area of the then Ger­ the moving life histories of the eye-witnesses Goleniów House man, now Polish, city of Goleniów/Gollnow. through photographs and texts in a bilingual of Culture, In moving discussions, eight eye-witnesses project newspaper and in a film. Goleniów (PL) told the young German and Poles about their memories of forced labour, flight and expul­ sion to and from Goleniów/Gollnow. This city serves to illustrate the dual expulsion and the finding of a new home for Poles and Germans at the end of World War II. Polish eye-wit­ nesses spoke about fleeing East Poland and coming to Goleniów. The German eye-wit­ nesses had to leave then German Gollnow and move west. The themes of flight and expulsion of Germans

This bilingual project newspaper was presented The young people explored the by Polish and German biographies of Polish and German participants as result eye-witnesses of their work

18 19 examples of projects

stumbling blocks for zittau Czech and German youth research Jewish biographies from Zittau to Theresienstadt

feelings, it was very hard for him”, reported Project partners “Wanted: Eye-witnesses of Life of Zittau’s a young Czech woman who participated. In Multicultural Jews“, the daily newspaper Sächsische Zei­ addition to talking to eye-witnesses, the stu­ Centre, tung announced in an article about the Ger­ dents used archival materials and letters to Registered man-Czech project. The young participants find out about the family’s life in the There­ Association, from the Polish/Czech/German border area sienstadt ghetto (Terezín). The moving talks Zittau (D) explored the biographies of Jewish families. and documents gave rise to an exhibit called Their research focussed on the history of the “On the trail of the Hann family”. Stolpersteine SCHKOLA Hann family, which owned a shoe shop and (literally “stumbling blocks“ – concrete cubes, Jonsdorf, Kurort lived in Zittau until its members were de­ topped with brass memorial plates, that are Jonsdorf (D) ported by the Nazis. Philipp and Ludwig Hann set flush with the sidewalk/pavement) were and his wife Julie all died in concentration also installed to commemorate the family. Bohumil Hynek camps. Primary School, The results of the joint project Cvikov (CZ) were presented in an exhibit Assisted by the newspaper article about the project, the school students located eye-wit­ nesses who remembered the family: “An old man came to see us. He told us about the Hann family. He brought the shoetree that the Hann family used in their shop. The man showed his Czech and German school students researched the life of the Jewish Hann family

The project participants got to know each other in an informal way

20 21 CONTACT the foundation “remembrance, responsibility and mitost e.v. future”

In remembrance of the victims of National Socialist injustice, the Foundation “Remembrance, MitOst is an association which arranges language and cultural exchanges in Central, Eastern Responsibility and Future” works to promote human rights and understanding between peoples. and Southeastern Europe and is the supporting organisation carrying out the programmes of It also upholds its commitment to the survivors. The Foundation is thus an expression of the several foundations. The association has approximately 1700 members in over 40 countries and continuing political and moral responsibility of the state, industry and society for the wrongs has been contributing to international understanding with its own projects in Central, Eastern committed in the name of National Socialism. and Southeastern Europe since 1996. The programme Europeans for Peace is carried out by MitOst e.V.. The Foundation supports international projects in the following areas:

A critical examination of history contact: Working for human rights MitOst e.V. Commitment to the victims of National Socialism Europeans for Peace Schillerstraße 57, 10627 Berlin The Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” was established in 2000, primarily to make payments to former forced labourers. The payments programmes were completed in 2007. phone: +49 (0)30-31 51 74 77 The Foundation’s capital of EUR 5.2 billion was provided by the German Government and Ger­ e-mail: [email protected] man industry. A total of EUR 358 million was set aside as Foundation capital in order to finance web: www.europeans-for-peace.de project support. The Foundation finances its long-term funding activities out of the income generated by this capital. www.stiftung-evz.de

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AKtuelles Ausschreibungsthema Current topic

www.europeans-for-peace.de

tions as to how to carry out the projects and a comprehensive links list is available at at available is list links comprehensive a and projects the out carry to how to as tions

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in Vergangenheit sugges of variety a application, for call years’ this of theme the on information Detailed

und Gegenwart today and why human rights are not yet universal. universal. yet not are rights human why and today

doing, they post the question why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still relevant relevant still is Rights Human of Declaration Universal the why question the post they doing,

and organizations both past and present have worked for the protection of human rights. In so so In rights. human of protection the for worked have present and past both organizations and

of the Second World War up to the present day. They highlight the ways in which individuals individuals which in ways the highlight They day. present the to up War World Second the of

Young people take part in international projects examining human rights abuses from the period period the from abuses rights human examining projects international in part take people Young www.europeans-for-peace.de world. the in everywhere recognized not still are rights man

­ hu yet and – all for equal and universal is validity of claim Their War. World Second the during

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came about as a response to the crimes committed committed crimes the to response a as about came Rights Human of Declaration Universal The human rights in past and present and past in rights human menschenrechte in vergangenheit und gegenwart

Die Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte entstand als Antwort auf die Verbrechen im Zwei­

ten Weltkrieg. Ihr Geltungsanspruch ist universell und für jeden Menschen gleich – dennoch www.europeans-for-peace.de werden die Menschenrechte nicht überall beachtet. In internationalen Projekten untersuchen Jugendliche Beispiele für die Verletzung von Men­

schenrechten von der Zeit des Zweiten Weltkrieges bis in die Gegenwart. Sie zeigen auf, wie sich Menschen und Organisationen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart für die Einhaltung der present and

Menschenrechte engagiert haben. Dabei fragen sie, warum die Allgemeine Erklärung der Men­ schenrechte heute noch aktuell ist und warum die Menschenrechte nicht überall verwirklicht past in sind.

Ausführliche Informationen zum Ausschreibungsthema und vielfältige Projektanregungen

sowie eine umfangreiche Linksammlung gibt es unter www.europeans-for-peace.de

TOPIC rrent u c

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