Study trip to Auschwitz
I'm leaving this place now - but this place will never leave me again."
- Lisa (VPb)
These words sum up what many of us felt after our visit to Auschwitz.
Our diversity study trip to Poland - with stops in Warsaw, Krakow and Auschwitz - was a profound turning point and the highlight so far of our more than three-year exploration of the history of the twenty Jewish children from Bullenhuser Damm.
From memorial to journey
As winners of the Bertini Prize, which we received for our memorial project at the Brecht School, we deliberately wanted to invest the prize money in a trip that would take us to the historical sites.Our special thanks go to Nicole Mattern from the association Kinder vom Bullenhuser Damm, who accompanied us intensively over three years - also during the one-year project development for the memorial, which we finally developed together with the sculptor Ulf Petersen and which he then realized for our school.
Stations of remembrance
Warsaw and Krakow
In Warsaw and Krakow, we were able to learn more about the Jewish ghettos and the systematic exclusion and persecution of the Jewish population on guided tours. In both cities, we were vividly shown the brutality and systematic nature of the anti-Semitism that was implemented there in order to inflict suffering on people, disenfranchise them and deliberately dehumanize them.The historical sites gave us an idea of the immeasurable suffering that the Jewish people in the ghettos had to endure - on a scale beyond our imagination.
Auschwitz
The visit to Auschwitz was the most impressive and at the same time the most difficult part of the trip. Early in the morning, we drove to Oświęcim, where we were guided through Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau objectively and carefully for over eight hours by a German-speaking guide. There, we became shockingly aware of the incomprehensible brutality and systematic nature with which the National Socialist extermination plans were implemented. Well over a million people were murdered in Auschwitz, most of them Jews1. But every number remains abstract in the face of the suffering of every single person: All of them had a past of their own, a family, wishes, dreams - and, of course, plans for the future.
The impressions were so profound - and we would have liked to learn so much more that our guide, Ms. Pasternak, would have liked to continue, just like us. But we were the last visitors to the memorial.
Impressions that remain
After this intensive journey through Warsaw, Krakow and Auschwitz, it was clear to us that this experience cannot be summarized in a few words.
Each of us experienced the visit in our own way - with our own thoughts, emotions and questions. That is why we recorded our impressions in short personal texts - directly after the visit or in the days that followed. These texts reflect what moved us, what continues to have an effect and what has not yet been processed. Some contributions are quiet and tentative, others are very clear and direct. Some of us continue to deal artistically with what we experienced - Maya Franzius in drawings, Matti Bliß in a film documentary.
Remembering and passing on
We would like to pass on our knowledge and experiences to our fellow students - in conversations, presentations and by remembering together. Because this journey continues to have an effect on us. And it will never leave us. We publish these voices because we believe that remembering and working against anti-Semitism and racism does not only happen in memorials - but also in sharing. With classmates, families, teachers and anyone who is willing to listen.
The Diversity Club of the Brecht School
