SHARING MEMORY.
SUMMARY
OF THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH PROJECT NESHAMA
Auschwitz Memorial
The aim of the project was to create
a network of Young European Ambassadors whose mission would be to pass on the memory of the Holocaust, promote Jewish culture, and connect memorial sites across Europe. Each country involved in the project was represented by a specific institution:
Croatia: Jasenovac Memorial Site
France: Le Mémorial de la Shoah (coordinator) and Le Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation
Germany: Langenstein-Zwieberge Memorial Site
Greece: Jewish Museum of Greece in Athens
Poland: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
In the initial phase of the project, the young participants met regularly at museums and memorial sites in their own countries to learn about their history and the significance of their work in the contemporary world. Young people from Poland, representing seven secondary schools from the Oświęcim County, were able to visit the grounds of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, see the Museum’s Collections, Archives, and Conservation Laboratories, and take part in numerous workshops devoted both to the history of the camp and to the meaning of memory about Auschwitz in today’s world.
“An integrative element was very important to us. That is why activities were often organized in groups composed of students from different schools, which allowed for much greater dynamism in group discussions and for the exchange of diverse experiences,” said Anna Stańczyk, one of the project coordinators from the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust.
“We also wanted the sessions not to take the form of a formal lecture, where the speaker talks and the young people listen. Many of the activities were based on active group work using materials prepared in advance, through which the participants could learn from one another,” added Marine Dudziak-Vannier, coordinator from the ICEAH.
In the next phase, online lectures were organized on Jewish life in Europe before the war, various aspects of Holocaust history, and the contemporary role of Holocaust memory. There were also meetings with Holocaust Survivors from different countries, who shared their experiences and reflections on the lessons that must be drawn from the past. For the young participants, this was one of the most important parts of the program.
More than 200 young people and 40 teachers from five countries, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, and Poland, took part in a seminar at the Auschwitz Museum from 15 to 17 March. It was the culmination of the year-long project NESHAMA – Network for European Youth for Holocaust Remembrance.
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