"I've never forgotten the Foundation." Interview with Stephan Erb, one of the first employees of the IYMC in Krzyżowa, currently Managing Director of the PNWM in Potsdam
- The Krzyżowa Foundation: Do you remember the moment when you were in Krzyżowa for the first time?
- Stephan Erb: I came to Krzyżowa for the first time in 1994. At that time, I had just finished my studies and got a job as a pedagogue at Krzyżowa. I was one of the young people who worked at the IYMC and supported and led groups that came to Krzyżowa. These were often Polish-German student exchange programs. But at that time, the " Krzyżowa " Foundation also organized workcamps. Young people from different countries met to work together and renovate the building complex. They spent nights in tents near the House on the Hill.
For five years, until 1999, I worked in Krzyżowa, but also after that time I was connected with the Foundation and the place. For several years, I was a member of the Foundation's Supervisory Board and the IYMC Board. Since 2008, I have been working in the Polish-German Youth Cooperation, where I continue to support Polish-German youth meetings.
- Krzyżowa Foundation: How, from today's perspective, do you assess the importance of Krzyżowa for German-Polish reconciliation and for relations in Europe?
- Stephan Erb: Krzyżowa has not lost its historical significance, and at the same time it has gained its current significance for Polish-German relations. Krzyżowa is not only a historical place of resistance against National Socialism. Thanks to the Reconciliation Mass in 1989, it is also a place of a new beginning for German-Polish relations, and today also a central place for German-Polish and European education and meetings.
Over the past 25 years, the Krzyżowa Foundation has developed even further as an organisation and also its profile. In today's Krzyżowa, we can see what the Germans and Poles have achieved together: getting to know each other and being ready to know the perspective of another country. This includes understanding how the other country works and being aware of the difficult history that is always present in the background. Here in Krzyżowa, this history is present every day. The experience gained in the process of understanding and reconciliation between the two countries can be useful for other difficult neighbourhoods in the world. I would like this potential for joint action and help to be used even more.
PHOTO: Stephan Erb during the 25th anniversary of the youth exchange with the Altkönigschule in Kronberg
