Remembrance with Young People at Haus der Geschichte
Our educational outreach encourages young people to engage with the Nazi era in a genuine way. This was powerfully demonstrated during the recent days of action marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn. The education team from the Arolsen Archives spent four days at the museum. As well as providing interactive media stations for students to use, they also held workshops to complement the museum’s program of events for its exhibition “After Hitler. Germany’s Reckoning with the Nazi Past.” Both activities were well received by students and teachers alike.
This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day events at Haus der Geschichte aimed to foster a sense of history and raise awareness of the profound impact of historical events on individual lives. To achieve this important goal, the museum invited Holocaust survivor Tova Friedmann to a panel discussion and partnered with the Arolsen Archives to enrich the program. Visitors had the opportunity to work on #everynamecounts or try out the new learning platform, which focuses on the history of the Nazi era and on issues of social participation and marginalization since 1945.
Students Explore History of the Nazi Era
On January 29 alone, the main day of action, at least 300 students from eleven schools visited the museum. Many of them used the media stations, while others delved even deeper into the subject matter, exploring the mini games on the learning platform and participating in various workshops. The workshops, which were part of Haus der Geschichte’s program of events for Holocaust Remembrance Day, were genuinely thought-provoking. The students “learned a lot,” gained “important and interesting insights,” and were surprised “that we still encounter so many details in our everyday lives.” Nearly all the participants said they would recommend the learning platform and the mini games, which can be played online without having to read any instructions.
The Haus der Geschichte received similarly positive feedback from teachers. Many had high praise for the activities on offer and now plan to incorporate the educational platform into their lessons. Our education team were equally pleased with the event – despite having arrived with very different levels of prior knowledge, students had explored the history of the Nazi era in depth and thought critically about how to come to terms with this difficult past.
