Remembering Nazi crimes in times of current socio-political challenges The „Commemorative Buchenwald Railway Path“
Description: Are you interested in the history of National Socialism and historical and current issues? Are you open to getting to know people in order to enter into dialogue with them about society and politics in the 20th and 21st centuries? Would you like to take part in a project whose aim for many years has been to dedicate a memorial stone to children and young people who were murdered during the National Socialist era? The Buchenwald Concentration Camp Memorial on the Ettersberg near Weimar has been organising work and study camps for many decades, in which participants from all over the world discuss the above-mentioned issues and learn, work and spend their free time together in an international group.
Type of Work: The work part and study part are roughly equally weighted in this camp.
The practical work is concerned with the maintenance of the ‘Buchenwald Railway Memorial Trail’, i.e. the cleaning of a forest road. There may also be work with wood to clear the track. The focus is on stonemasonry work in memory of children and young people deported from Buchenwald to Auschwitz.
While working in the restoration workshop, participants can gain an impression of conservation and restoration techniques and take an in-depth look at historical objects found in the grounds and their function in the camp.
The work is rated as easy to moderately difficult.
Study Theme: The examination of the history of the Buchenwald concentration camp (1937-1945), the Soviet Special Camp No. 2 (1945-1950) and the Buchenwald Memorial (since 1958) is at the centre of the discussion, considering the respective political and social contexts. The focus is on the National Socialist period and the examination of current forms of Memory cultures in the 20th and 21st century. This also includes a look at forms of historical revisionism and trivialisation of National Socialist crimes in Germany, Europe and the world and after 1945.
Accommodation: The accommodation is located in the International Educational Centre on the grounds of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp Memorial. The participants are mostly accommodated in 2-3 bed rooms in a former SS barrack. The building has been modernised since 2007, and have showers and toilets in the rooms. Participants cook and eat together in their own camp kitchen, while the responsible teams and memorial staff take care of the shopping.
Language: The common language will be English, i.e. at least a good knowledge of English is a prerequisite for participation.
Requirements: At least a good command of English. Interest in the history of National Socialism and current social and political issues, initiative, openness to different perspectives and a sense of responsibility for you and others.
Approximate Location: The memorial is located around 9 kilometres from the city of Weimar, which is known for its cultural appeal. World-famous museums are dedicated to famous personalities such as Johann W. von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Nietzsche, but the Bauhaus-Museum is also originated here.
20 kilometres from Weimar you will find the beautiful cities of Erfurt (Thuringia's state capital) and Jena, a well-known student city.
Weimar's central location in Germany makes it easy to travel by train to other cities at the weekend, such as Leipzig (140 km), Berlin (384 km) or even Prague (310 km).
Notes: Some information and pictures to get an idea of the project: https://www.buchenwald.de/en/bildung/bildungsarbeit/workshops/gedenkweg-buchenwald-bahn & https://www.buchenwaldbahn.de/index.html INCOMING FEE for volunteers applying via partner organisations and contacts of SCI: https://sci-d.de/incomingfee
Camp Photographs
