Dear Readers, |
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"We receive messages every day from students who don't feel safe on their campus and are exposed to antisemitic attacks," says Hanna Esther Veiler, President of the Jewish Student Union, in an interview for this Newsletter. Her accounts reveal the personal fates behind the figures: There were 202 verified antisemitic incidents in Germany within just eight days of the Hamas terror attack on Israel. This corresponds to an increase of 240% (!) – and the number of unreported cases is in all probability much higher.
As human beings and as employees of the EVZ Foundation, we are deeply shocked by the inhumane and cruel attacks and by the fact that Jews can no longer feel safe. We stand in solidarity with our Israeli project partners, the global Jewish community and the people suffering from the terror caused by the Hamas militia.
Our foundation work is designed to ensure that #NeverAgain does NOT become #YetAgain. At stiftung-evz.de/israel, we are always collecting and updating offers of help. These can be psychological help, dates of rallies and vigils, or appeals for donations from our partners.
One thing is clear – the attacks represent a turning point. This is relevant primarily to people who are affected and then to organizations such as our Foundation that have to refocus and intensify their funding practices, their commitment as well as their educational offers and, in some respects, even have to question them. We are handling this task together with our Board of Trustees in our annual planning for 2024.
Stay in touch, informed and engage with us.
Dr. Andrea Despot
Chief Executive Officer of the EVZ Foundation |
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| #REMEMBERNOVEMBER9 |
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| Theme Days on the November Pogroms |
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Ways of remembering, virtual historical eyewitnesses, items of knowledge: Our social media channels are dedicated to stories of deprivation of rights and persecution of the Jewish population around November 9, 1938. We are publishing survivor Ruth Winkelmann's memories of the November pogroms. She was interviewed for the Education Agenda NS-Injustice project "For Real? - Virtual Encounter with historical eyewitnesses". Our projects and programs show how history can be reappraised and communicated in a contemporary way in order to actively oppose antisemitism today. Other topics: Ambivalence and complexity of November 9 in German history and projects in the area of democracy education. |
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View previous contributions now  |
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JUNGES SCHAUSPIEL FRANKFURT
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MADE IN GRMNY: Theater Text for Young Acting Groups
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In December 2022, the play "Unter uns. Unsichtbar" (In Community) premiered at the Junges Schauspiel Frankfurt: For 10 young people, the Adlerwerke historical place is the starting point for a search for connections between forced labor, the National Socialist ideology of "German work" and their own experiences of work, dependency and resistance now. A text based on the play has now been published by Rowohlt Theaterverlag; it allows young drama groups to bring the project to the stage themselves: Under the title "MADE IN GRMNY", the children's and youth theater author Tina Müller has put the play on paper for theater projects with young people aged 14 and over.
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Read the theater text 
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EDUCATION IN MOTION
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Learning from History. Dealing with Antisemitism in the Police and the Judiciary
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For Jews in Germany, antisemitism is never "just" a matter of history – it is still a dangerous part of everyday life to this day. The police and the judiciary do not always succeed in warding off antisemitic threats and acts of violence and prosecuting them successfully. How can representatives of both institutions be empowered to recognize and combat antisemitism? We will be discussing the problem, causes and practicable solutions with Dr. Ronen Steinke (lawyer & author), Sarah Friedek (a member of educational staff at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial), Winfrid Wenzel (director of the criminal division, head of the central office for prevention at the LKA (State Criminal Police) in Berlin and police-delegated commissioner for antisemitism in Berlin) as well as Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lembke (project manager "antisemitism and justice", Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin). The discussion with the experts will take place on Monday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m. as part of Education in Motion, a series of events organized by the Education Agenda NS-Injustice. The cooperation partner is the Topography of Terror Foundation.
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Learn more & register
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| KAMPNAGEL |
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| Forced labor and Resistance: Critical Reappraisal of Kampnagel's Site History Explained via Words and App |
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Over 500 people were forced to work on the site of today's Kampnagel Theater in Hamburg during the National Socialist era. Workers at the Kampnagel factory joined resistance groups at that time. The "Forced Labor and Resistance" project is developing an AR app about this hitherto barely examined history. On tours, current employees have already provided insights into the app content - for example, the locations where forced labor is believed to have been carried out. Every two months, the team presents the status of their research to interested parties and invites discussion. At the last of these regular events, the participants looked at best practice AR and VR projects and talked about the possibilities and limitations of these technologies in memory work. The next open event will take place on December 8. |
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| Find out more about the participatory event |
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"Since October 7, the situation has become much worse, as was to be expected". "We receive messages every day from students who don't feel safe on their campus and are exposed to antisemitic attacks." Hanna Esther Veiler, President of the Jewish Student Union in Germany, reports on the situation of Jewish students in an interview for the column "No place for hate". The author and political speaker talks about the challenges of her work and formulates clear demands for action from society as a whole.
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EXHIBITION MAKERS WANTED! |
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| Paul Goesch: An Exhibition in the Making |
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A project of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice has become the talk of the town in Brandenburg an der Havel: Over the past few months, participants in twelve workshops, groups that are diverse in all respects, have been engaging intensively and artistically with the artist Paul Goesch, who was murdered in 1940 as part of "Aktion T4" program.
The diverse results could be seen in October in a workshop exhibition in St. Johanniskirche, e.g. the linocuts by senior citizens who worked together in the "Sonnensegel" gallery. These are intentionally kept in black and white; the basic shape of the square is intended to evoke the confined space in the gas chamber. Each of the prints allows spectators to see how intensively the participants engaged with Paul Goesch. What they all have in common is the strong focus on eyes and faces. One participant explains: "The perception of mentally ill people is frequently distorted. They feel they are being watched from everywhere, and that's why the eyes were the starting point for my artistic work."
The exhibition was well received, as a glance at the guest book shows: "I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures by Paul Goesch. I didn't know him before, but that's changed with this exhibition. It's great that children, young people, adults and senior citizens are involved. Society as a whole should take an interest in this."
But the project goes even further: Nineteen volunteer exhibition organizers – including a schoolgirl, artists with an interest, an archaeologist and dedicated pensioners – are working together to develop an exhibition featuring Paul Goesch. There are many different ideas and experiences, but they are all united by their interest in art and history and the question: "How is an exhibition created?". The answer can be found in the participatory process with the project team - and then in the exhibition itself, which can be seen in the Brandenburg an der Havel City Museum from July 2024. |
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| Find out more about the project |
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Speed dating, workshops and lively (expert) exchange: The networking and input meeting in 2023 once again brought together stakeholders and project sponsors of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice in Berlin for two days. At the fritzforum, participants had the opportunity to look at topics such as impact and cooperation management or digital and artistic-activist tools in educational work. However, this year the focus was especially on the actual projects: Participants from different areas got to know each other better via the speed-geeking project while the open space conference provided a place for their own topics and requests for discussions. |
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| Watch the film about the networking meeting |
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BAYRISCHER RUNDFUNK |
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| Patient Murders at Kaufbeuren: A Work of Art to Prevent Forgetting |
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The BR accompanied pupils who, together with the artist Andreas Knitz, visited a former crime scene of "NS euthanasia", the Kaufbeuren sanatorium and nursing home. As part of the project "NS-„Euthanasie“ ERINNERN – inklusive Gesellschaft GESTALTEN [REMEMBER NS "Euthanasia" – SHAPE an inclusive society]", they read the victims' files and prepared the so-called "starvation diet" that was developed at this location. Over the next few months the pupils will create a work of art to commemorate the atrocities. "You can't just forget about people like that. And I think: You also need to give them back dignity," explains one participant in the article. |
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| Read the article |
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| How German media report on Israel |
| How German Media Report on Israel |
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For the "Breitband" program, "Deutschlandfunk Kultur" spoke to Meron Mendel about his perception of German reporting which included a comparison with the international media landscape. Another topic is the concept of "reason of state" and the responsibility that Mendel ascribes to the media. "However, the media always need to reflect on their own entanglements [...]. When German journalists report on Israel, they must also reflect on their own relationship to the region. And, above all, they need to be aware of the resonance chamber they are speaking into." |
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| Listen to the program |
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| SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG |
| Listen to Me |
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Holocaust survivor Eva Erben spoke to Süddeutsche Zeitung in Prague about her situation following the terrorist attacks by Hamas. Eva Erben had to leave her home in Israel abruptly and says she photographed everything again before she had to leave: "A quiet voice said to me: This might be the last time." The 93-year-old wants to continue doing what she has been doing for so many years: speaking in schools about Israel and the Holocaust. |
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| Read the report |
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| David Rodríguez Peralto, President of the Fundación Teatro Joven for the project "Resistance & Collaboration: Landscapes of Devastation" |
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Mr. Rodríguez Peralto, why is transnational exchange so important when it comes to NS injustice and memory culture?
In a radically diverse Europe with radically diverse societies, we consider transnational exchange indispensable in order to shape the present and the future, especially in younger generations, based on a shared understanding of responsibility.
Theater helps us to facilitate transnational remembrance work and look at lesser-known fates of persecution that resulted from specific constellations of resistance and collaboration in Greece, Spain and Ukraine. We are looking differently at our traditions of remembrance and, with the means of artistic education, carry out European remembrance work that can be experienced together.
The project is committed to a European civil society that is growing together and would like to use the means of artistic education to jointly experience European remembrance work. All three projects see themselves as uncomfortable interventions in entrenched (national) cultures of memory. |
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| Read the interview |
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| NOVEMBER 12, MANNHEIM |
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| Musical Theater Premiere: "Für alle Ewigkeit & Chemie bringt Brot, Wohlstand und Schönheit" |
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Based on a chemical conference at the Leunawerke in 1958, the play "Für alle Ewigkeit & Chemie bringt Brot, Wohlstand und Schönheit [For all Eternity & Chemistry brings Bread, Prosperity and Beauty]" takes a look at this industry 65 years later. The artistic team explores the status quo using three locations which are closely linked to the chemical industry: Mannheim/Ludwigshafen, Leuna and Oświęcim (Poland). Young people from these cities took part in the research and investigated the influence of the chemical industry during National Socialism on their own family biographies. |
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| More dates and tickets |
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| NOVEMBER 16 AND 17, FRANKFURT (ODER) |
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| Law without Law: Conference on the Restitution of Nazi-confiscated Art |
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In mid-November, the European University Viadrina is hosting a conference as part of the "Law without Law" project which will focus on the historical and contemporary dimensions of the restitution of art stolen by the National Socialists. In addition to a keynote speech, participants will look at current discourses in several rounds of discussions together with international experts from a variety of disciplines including law and art history: Do we need new legislation on the restitution of art, for example? |
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| Find out more about the conference |
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| DECEMBER 7 AND 8, STRAUSBERG AND BERLIN |
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| Musical Reading: "Ich wand’re durch Theresienstadt" |
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As part of the project, pupils and teachers have the opportunity to get to know pieces of music by the composers Pavel Haas and Hans Krása, who were imprisoned in Theresienstadt, as well as texts by the poet Ilse Weber and to look at their historical and cultural value. They will be artistically accompanied by actor Roman Knižka and the OPUS 45 wind quintet. Admission to the musical readings in Strausberg and Berlin is free. There will be further events in Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Prague and Terezín in 2024. |
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| Plan your visit |
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| NEWSLETTER 12/2023 |
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| Our Next Edition Will Be Published at the Beginning of December! |
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In the last edition in 2023, everything will once again revolve around the themes, funding programs and projects of the EVZ Foundation at the beginning of December. In addition to a review of the November edition of Education in Motion, the focus will be on the Digital Collective Memory platform amongst other things. So stay tuned! |
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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:
Charlotte Detig, Sonja Folsche, Sarah Keller, Hanna Komornitzyk, Katrin Kowark, Sophie Ziegler
Image Credits:
Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Aileen Pinkert, Julia Menzel, Stefanie Loos, Fundación Teatro Joven / David Ruano |
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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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