From 19 to 24. March 2023, 60 students from Germany (Berufliche Schule Bad Oldesloe), Poland (Zespół Szkół Zawodowych w Pustkowie-Osiedlu, I Liceum Ogólnokształcące Dębica) and Ukraine (Ihor Sikorskyi Aero-Space Lyceum Kyiv) came together to work in international small groups on the fates of former concentration camp prisoners and to search for their family members in order to be able to return their relatives' personal belongings to them. The encounter took place as part of the #StolenMemory campaign, initiated by the Arolsen Archives, which was carried out this week simultaneously at six locations under the auspices of the Bad Oldesloe Vocational School. It was special for this meeting in Krzyżowa that both the German and Polish groups included young refugees from Ukraine, who then met youth from their home country. During the integration and warm-up activities, the young people from all countries showed great curiosity and openness, and a good community atmosphere developed, which was further strengthened by a joint excursion to Wrocław and jointly organized evenings such as international evening, campfire or sports evening. A central part of the project week was the visit to the former concentration camp Groß-Rosen, which the group prepared and followed up and which was the first visit to such a place for most of them and impressed many very much. On the last day, the small groups were able to present the results of their research work. The young people were very motivated and took away many new experiences and acquaintances from this week.
Project coordination: Sarah Schumayer
Project leading: Sarah Schumayer, Karolina Osiecka
The project was funded by the Polish-German Youth Cooperation (Funding program “Ways to remembrance”) and the German Federal Foreign Office.
