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| EDITION 08/2023 |
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Dear Readers,
From August 2 to 3, 1944, SS guards murdered more than 4,000 Sinti and Roma during the liquidation of a part of Auschwitz-Birkenau camp – in spite of their fierce resistance. On the occasion of the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma, let us remember this crime and acknowledge historical continuities: The antigypsy National Socialist terror managed to seamlessly continue the decades-long exclusion of this minority during the German Empire as well as the Weimar Republic.
However, the deprivation of rights of Sinti and Roma continued to be effective even after 1945. For example, German authorities frequently rejected claims for compensation by survivors of National Socialism as well as a criminal appraisal of German crimes. And this was accompanied by repeated criminalization of the victims. Since its establishment, the EVZ Foundation has supported equal participation and self-organization of the Roma and Sinti. Read about this important work here!
National Socialist perpetrators murdered almost exclusively children, women and sick people during the liquidation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Even today, children are especially affected by mass violence as a vulnerable group. A current, particularly poignant example: The Russian war against Ukraine has the most horrific consequences for many Ukrainian children. They suffer enormously from terror, trauma and escape. Hundreds of thousands of children have been carried off to Russia since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Come and talk to experts on this very live subject as part of our "EVZ Conversations!" event series!
Stay in touch and engage with us.
Dr. Andrea Despot
CEO of the EVZ Foundation |
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EVZ CONVERSATIONS!
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Uprooted – Children in War: Strengthen Victims, Punish Perpetrators
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The Russian war against Ukraine has devastating consequences for so many Ukrainian children. How can universal children's rights be upheld in the midst of a war? How can European civil society engage for the children concerned? What criminal consequences must there be for those responsible? In the new episode of "EVZ Conversations!" Marieluise Beck (Easteurope Expert), Anna Lenchovska (Executive Director, Kyiv Educational Center "Tolerspace") and Dr. Elīna Šteinerte (human rights lawyer) hold discussions with the CEO of the EVZ Foundation, Dr. Andrea Despot. The event will take place on September 1, starting at 5 p.m. and in cooperation with the Maxim Gorki Theater.
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Register now free of charge 
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#WATCHOUTHSTRY
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Save the Date: Photo competition for the annual theme #WatchOutHstry
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In the culture of remembrance relating to National Socialist crimes, there are still many blank spots as well as suppressed and forgotten stories. Help bring these gaps into focus! We need your help for the planned photo competition on the annual theme #WatchOutHstry: We welcome motifs and snapshots that illuminate little-known places or stories of National Socialist injustice. The call for applications will follow at the end of August on our website and social media channels – Save the Date!
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More info about the contest
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THEMATIC DOSSIER
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EVZ meets Gen Z: Preserving Memory and Shaping the Future Together with Young People
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How can we reach young people as the future bearers of the culture of remembrance? How can we support diversity-sensitive, historically aware youth who stand up for diversity and democracy in their activism? Since its establishment, the EVZ Foundation has initiated numerous of multilateral funding programs, cooperation projects as well as operational projects with and for young people. International educational work is being tested by current challenges such as the rise of antisemitism, the Russian war against Ukraine, as well as shrinking spaces of civil societies in Central and Eastern Europe. Which approaches to future-oriented educational work are promising? Together with partners and numerous projects, the EVZ Foundation gives a variety of responses!
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Read the Thematic Dossier now 
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DIGITAL EDUCATION
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Going into German-Turkish-Ottoman History with the Orient Express
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What role did Germans play during the Armenian Genocide? How can the various forms of behavior of German actors on the location be evaluated historically and morally? The Institute for Diaspora Research and Genocide Studies at Ruhr University Bochum is researching the German-Turkish-Ottoman interwoven history in a project funded by the EVZ Foundation. Extensive teaching materials and units are now available for teachers! With the aid of an interactive website, the project also uses the Orient Express to show numerous biographies of the history of the Armenian Genocide as well as the complex interconnections. Come onboard!
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Take a look at the website now
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
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YOUNG PEOPLE remember [re]act finding memories
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Do you have contemporary and innovative methods and projects in the planning stage that convey National Socialist history to heterogeneous target groups? How can young people actively shape the culture of remembrance? We look forward to hearing your ideas! In the program YOUNG PEOPLE remember, the EVZ Foundation, together with the Federal Foreign Office, promotes bilateral and multilateral encounters of adolescents and young adults at historical sites of National Socialist persecution. Furthermore, projects with experts for the development of concepts for international youth encounters are funded.
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Apply now up to September 18!
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SURVIVORS OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM
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Preserving the memory of German crimes
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The people of Ukraine will not allow themselves to be robbed of their history and culture, despite the war and the Russian terror of occupation. An example: Mykola Wasyliowytsch Prjadko sits in front of the display boards of the traveling exhibition "Who are the Ostarbeiter (Eastern workers)?", funded by the EVZ Foundation, in his own native town Mykolaiv. He tells his life story on the anniversary of the invasion of the Soviet Union by the National Socialists. He talks about being deported to Germany by the German authorities together with his family in February 1944 when he was four years old. He tells of brutal forced labor and the severe injuries sustained by his mother, who had to cut metal for the Melitta company. It was not until 1976 that the Mykolaiv ship mechanic, as he later became, was able to see his family again. Mykola Wasyliowytsch is now head of the Mykolaiv branch of the Association of victims of Nationals Socialism (USWShN) that works on behalf of the approximately 220 local survivors of National Socialist persecution. Despite the Russian terror of occupation and the war against Ukraine, he, like many other Ukrainians, continues to be socially active and works to preserve the memory of German crimes – especially today. Are you interested in the history of the Eastern workers?
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Find out about the digital education portal on NS forced labor now 
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SINTI AND ROMA
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Participation and Self-empowerment
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How can Roma participate in social life in Ukraine on an equal footing? How has the situation of the community changed since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine? These and other questions were discussed by representatives of the German and Ukrainian governments as well as international organizations at the conference "Roma as Integral part of Society of Ukraine" funded by the EVZ Foundation. For this purpose, Roma civil society organizations have produced an analysis of the situation as well as recommendations for action in a self-organized consultation process. On account of the war in Ukraine, many activists have to deal with their own traumas whilst helping others. Some of them participated in the Save Space e.V. Self-Empowerment Symposium in Spain. The symposium, funded by the EVZ Foundation, provided a protected space for a shared exchange, trauma recovery, self-strengthening and empowerment for more than 40 people from the Sinti and Roma community. Deutsche Welle described in an article why this is necessary and gathered the voices of the participants.
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Find out more now
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CULTURE OF REMEMBRANCE
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Review of the Blickwinkel (Perspectives) Conference 2023
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There has been a discussion for years about how ideas of an inclusive culture of remembrance of the Holocaust and colonialism can be lived in practice. At the same time, both perspectives are often portrayed in competition with each other in the public perception. The Blickwinkel Conference UMKÄMPFTES ERINNERN (CONTESTED MEMORY) of the Anne Frank Educational Center, funded by the EVZ Foundation, was dedicated to questions about coming to terms with the colonial past, its consequences for the present and the relationship of the Holocaust and colonialism in collective memory. The aim was to discover how the controversial discourses can be used productively and how ideas of an inclusive culture of remembrance of the Holocaust and colonialism can be lived in practice. Would you like to learn more about international perspectives on memorial sites and the culture of remembrance, or postcolonialism and Holocaust commemoration?
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Join us now on re-live!
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EVZ lab
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Future Lab: The EVZ Foundation's Funding Commitment in Ukraine
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In spite of the Russian war against Ukraine, the engagement of Ukrainian civil society on the ground as well as in exile is enormous. It is also crucial for the EVZ Foundation to align its support as effectively as possible with the needs of the dedicated partners. How the Foundation can realize this goal and how the priceless civil society potential for Ukraine's democratic future can be supported was the focus of a two-day workshop held in Berlin in early July. In this context, EVZ Foundation colleagues worked with numerous experts from Ukrainian civil society to develop strategic approaches and to look at how support can be oriented to the reconstruction of Ukraine in an impact-oriented way.
The discussion also focused on how the EVZ Foundation can tailor its support to the needs of Survivors of National Socialism and refugees in Ukraine. Once again it became clear that the plight of survivors of National Socialist persecution in Ukraine remains very serious – according to estimates they are approximately 42,000 in number. They are at acute risk of death, possible re-traumatization, and greater isolation as an after-effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. The EVZ Foundation will therefore continue to provide flexible funding in order to help in a targeted manner.
All participants also discussed the question of how a multi-perspective view of World War II can be successfully established in German society, and how a more nuanced remembrance as well as a more comprehensive picture of the past and present in Ukraine can be conveyed.
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More about aid for Ukraine
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Since the expanded Russian war in Ukraine made the Pride Parade in Kyiv impossible, numerous Ukrainian LGBTIQ organizations gathered in Berlin for Christopher Street Day in late July. On the photo, you can see how activists and supporters drew attention to the plight of the Ukrainian population and global queer hostility under the slogan "Be Pride Like Ukraine". Many LGBTIQ self-organizations are funded by the EVZ Foundation in their struggle for human rights – including Kyiv Pride, Sphere, Women Association, Insight, Gender Stream und Quarteera. For example, Quarteera supports LGBTIQ refugees from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and other post-Soviet states and is establishing community centers around the country. In cooperation with local LGBTIQ organizations, community meetings and counseling services are organized in Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden and Stuttgart. The regional groups also learn German together and organize demonstrations.
At a pre-Christopher Street Day event, a number of people also talked about the needs of the community at home and abroad; this included showing a video message from Ukrainians currently fighting on the front lines.
Projects for self-empowerment and equal participation of Sinti, Roma and LGBTIQ people are funded in the EVZ Foundation's cluster "Acting together with self-organizations". We provide sustainable support to communities in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe by knowledge and experience transfer, structural development and coalition building. You would like to find out more? Discover our social media series on the engagement of various self-organizations now and come with us to our projects!
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Find out more now 
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Dr. Claire Demesmay, Head of Division "Intercultural formation" at the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO)
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The FGYO and the EVZ Foundation are planning a youth encounter. It will take place as part of the joint project "War(s) in Europe. Shared experience, collective memory? – Germany, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina”. What are the objectives of the encounter - and what are you especially looking forward to?
It is a very nice and meaningful project that our two institutions have developed together in a process of co-creation – which we at the FGYO are especially happy about. The starting point was the consideration of how peace education can be further developed in the context of international youth work, at a time when a war of aggression is taking place on European territory. This issue is extremely relevant, especially for Germany and France, which cultivate the narrative of "transforming arch-enmity into friendship" and like to see themselves as peacemakers. However, with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, this issue goes far beyond the Franco-German framework. It is also gaining importance in the countries of the Western Balkans, which have also experienced wars in the recent past.
The common objective of this pilot project is to increase young people's awareness of social and political coexistence in Europe. For the above-mentioned reasons, it seemed important to us to open up Franco-German cooperation to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. The encounter of young people from the three countries will be framed by an exchange between professionals involved in formal and non-formal education from the three countries concerned. An initial meeting has already taken place in May to develop approaches and methods for international youth educational work, which will be incorporated into the youth encounter and will be evaluated by the professionals at the end of the year. After an intensive period of reflection, I am now especially looking forward to the youth encounter - in the way of a trip through Europe. By coming together to explore different experiences of war and conflict from World War I and World War II as well as the Balkan Wars, young participants will be able to examine, empathize, and understand how wars are handled. What we hope to achieve with this is not only an increased capacity for empathy, but also the development of a tolerance for ambiguity among the participants. This is how innovation works in international youth work!
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Read more
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SPIEGEL
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The Children Who Were Not Allowed to Exist
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The National Socialist regime strictly forbade friendly or intimate contacts between Germans and racially marginalized prisoners of war and forced laborers. But they're still here! Children born of these relationships during World War II. Their stories have often been treated as taboo for a long time; they have had no place in the culture of remembrance until now and have hardly been researched academically. In the article in the SPIEGEL, three people report on their own search for clues. With the project "trotzdem da!" (They're still here!) funded by the EVZ Foundation, the Sandbostel Camp Memorial is dedicated to the life stories of children from forbidden relationships. The planned traveling exhibition will give space to the taboo stories and experiences of discrimination – and thereby shed light on the racism of the National Socialist regime.
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Read now
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DEUTSCHLANDFUNK
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Nobel Laureates on Civil Societies under Pressure
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Deutschlandfunk reports on the past episode of our event series "EVZ Conversations!". Nobel Peace Laureates Oleksandra Matviichuk (Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine), Irina Scherbakowa (Memorial, Russia) and Natallia Pinchuk (wife of the imprisoned laureate Ales Bialiatski, Belarus) talked to Dr. Andrea Despot, CEO of the EVZ Foundation. The speakers' shocking accounts made it clear that the West had looked the other way for too long and that civil society players in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are suffering massively from "shrinking spaces". It was made clear that evening how important a Ukrainian victory would be for civil societies in neighboring countries as well.
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Listen now
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UFUQ
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How Young People Remember National Socialism
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How, what, and in which ways do young people remember National Socialism? How do they perceive discrimination now? The MEMO Youth Study 2023, funded by the EVZ Foundation and conducted by Bielefeld University, gives informative answers to these questions. Some results have caused a stir since publication. For example, a large proportion of young people are interested in the history of National Socialism, but at the same time they cannot identify the period correctly. In an interview with ufuq.de, the head of the study Michael Papendick gives an overview of the key findings and clears away a number of misconceptions.
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Read the interview now
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AUGUST 14 TO 20
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We're taking a social media summer break!
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In case you're wondering why we're not chirping loudly despite it being summer: From August 14 to 20, we will be pausing all our activities on our social media channels. We'll be back at the end of August with new projects, hashtags and voices from the community!
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Find out about our channels
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OCTOBER 16 TO 17, BERLIN
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“What’s the point of history… if we never learn?”
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Nearly 80 years after World War II and just 25 years after the Yugoslav wars, there is a war again in Europe. Didn't we learn lessons from the past together? Is the remembrance-cultural fundament of the European community now fragile? At the present time, it is clear that different perceptions of the past are shaping perceptions of the present and influencing political action throughout Europe. This diversity of the culture of remembrance exists not only between European countries, but also within societies. The international conference "What's the point of history... if we never learn?" will help to highlight different perspectives that will serve as a basis for discussions on history teaching and historical education. In this context, Dr. Andrea Despot, CEO of the EVZ Foundation, will moderate the discussions on the question of how a European commemoration with conflicting topics and parties can succeed. The conference will take place at the Humboldt Forum and is supported by the EVZ Foundation as a partner.
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Register now
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SEPTEMBER 1, STIFTUNG-EVZ.DE
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Save the Date: Launching the Call for Applications in the "Acting against antisemitism" Cluster
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Have there been antisemitic incidents in your sports club that have not been addressed? Do colleagues frequently issue calls to boycott the state of Israel? Antisemitism can be found almost everywhere; it exists in all areas of society. Therefore, antisemitism can only be countered effectively by society as a whole! In the future, the EVZ Foundation will fund the establishment and expansion of points of contact for the prevention of antisemitism in institutions and organizational structures as well as extensive, supporting projects. The idea: Permanent consolidation of structures and networks that make it possible to detect and combat the issue of antisemitism within your organization. Are you interested? Get in touch with our specialist advisor, Joseph Wilson, and stay informed!
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Send an email now to wilson@stiftung-evz.de
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| NEWSLETTER 09/2023 |
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| Our next edition will be published at the beginning of September! |
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| At the beginning of September, you will receive another edition of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice newsletter: On the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland and National Socialist "Euthanasia Decree", we highlight our variety of projects and present the brand-new magazine of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice. Look out! |
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| All editions at a glance |
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Stiftung Erinnerung,
Verantwortung und Zukunft
Friedrichstraße 200
10117 Berlin, Germany
T +49 (30) 25 92 97-0
F +49 (30) 25 92 97-11
Website |
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Responsible:
Dr. Andrea Despot
Editorial:
Hanna Komornitzyk, Katrin Kowark, Thomas Stein, Sophie Ziegler, Lotta Storm
Image Credits:
Stefan Lengsfeld, Valentyn Kuzan, Elīna Šteinerte, Gio Matchavariani, reiseindiemoderne.de, Roman Kroke, Walerij Tschernjawskij (Валерий Чернявский), Felix Schmitt, Daria Yemtsova, DGAP. |
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The editorial team welcomes your opinion on the newsletter and will be happy to answer any questions. We also help with any issues you might encounter: newsletter@stiftung-evz.de
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| © Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft, 2023 |
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