Workcamp Details - SCI International Voluntary Projects

Prisoner’s Testimonies of the AEL Ohrbeck (Hasbergen near Osnabrück)

Camp code:

DE-SCI 1.34

Country:

Germany

Start Date:

Jul 15, 2023

End Date:

Jul 29, 2023

Topic:

1: Antiracism, antifascism, remembrance

Work Types:

Archaeology / Art / Study, discussion, research

Number of volunteers:

Number of places still available:

Free places last update:

Jul 12, 2023

International age:

18 - 99

National age:

16 - 99

Required Language:

English

Description: From January 1944 until the end of the war in 1945, more than 2000 people were imprisoned in the Ohrbeck labor education camp and were forced to work in the Georgsmarienhütte steelworks and in rubble removal and bomb disposal in Osnabrück, among other places. Many of them lost their lives. Most were forced laborers from 17 different countries, the majority from the Netherlands and the former Soviet Union. Their punishment also served as a deterrent for more than 25,000 forced laborers in the Osnabrück region. The Augustaschacht memorial has been under development for 23 years with a great deal of volunteer commitment. As in the past, participation in this work camp is intended to raise the volunteers' awareness of the lessons learned from the history of World War II .

Type of Work: Assist with the preparation of artifacts found during archaeological excavations on the former camp site. The artifacts are to be cleaned, measured, photographed and recorded in a database so that they can be used for further research and educational work. The participants will also learn about the background of these artifacts, some of which are testimonies of the people who were imprisoned here, and deal with the topics of the Gestapo and forced labor and the permanent exhibition of the memorial sites, which were renewed in 2020.

Study Theme: Using a concrete example, the volunteers will deal with forced labour and Nazi history as well as their causes and consequences. This year, the focus will be on the Ohrbeck labor education camp, which is the subject of the permanent exhibition at Augustaschacht, which was renewed in 2020. The life stories of the inmates will be made graspable.

Accommodation: In the parish hall of the Evangelical Lutheran Christuskirche in Hasbergen.

Language: This camp is held in English

Requirements: Interest in new perspectives and intercultural encounters, German remembrance culture and the topic of forced labor. Good knowledge of the English language is required.

Approximate Location: Hasbergen is a village close to the university city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony. Trips to Osnabrück and the Netherlands are planned.

Notes: INCOMING FEE for volunteers applying through SCI partner organizations and contacts: https://sci-d.de/incomingfee.

Organization Description: This workcamp is organized by the German branch of Service Civil International (SCI). SCI Germany was founded in 1946 and is approved as a non-profit organisation. We are one of the oldest peace and volunteer organisations. SCI Germany aims to promote peace, non-violence, international solidarity, social justice, sustainable development and cross-cultural exchange through international voluntary work. We cooperate with a network of branches and partners in more than 90 countries. Every year, SCI Germany organizes about 50 international workcamps in Germany.

Camp Photographs