Gießen celebrates its opening: a place of learning and remembrance for the future!

Gießen celebrates its opening: a place of learning and remembrance for the future!

A new chapter in the culture of remembrance is being opened in Giessen: a former emergency room has been converted into a place of learning and remembrance. The opening took place yesterday evening and is being hailed as one of the largest cultural projects in the country. Giessen has a special history as it was the only camp outside of West Berlin after the Wall was built. In his opening speech, former Federal President Joachim Gauck emphasized the importance of building bridges between the past and the future. According to hessenschau.de, the memorial is intended to educate young generations in particular about the reasons why people are fleeing.

Statistics prove the importance of this facility: between 1950 and 1990, around one in four of the approximately 900,000 people who came to the Federal Republic passed through this camp. Some refugees only stayed here overnight, others stayed here for several months, which shows how central this place was to many fates.

Eternal memories and new exhibitions

The new permanent exhibition is open to the public from today. This includes over 50 video screens on which contemporary witnesses tell their stories. All this will be made possible through comprehensive educational programs that will be offered to schools in the coming period. These training courses are an invitation to engage intensively with the history and relevance of the emergency room. The first training for teachers will take place on March 24, 2025 at the Giessen Teaching Academy, as hlz.hessen.de reports.

This training consists of two parts: The first part deals with the concept of the permanent exhibition, with a focus on the GDR and the national significance of the emergency camp. The second part offers workshops on various topics for different grade levels - tailored to the respective core curricula of the subjects.

Reflection on the past

The importance of the culture of remembrance should not be underestimated. This remains a challenge, even more than three decades after the end of National Socialism. According to bpb.de, memorials such as these are essential places of experience and knowledge that aim to promote both empathy and historical understanding. It is important to draw lessons from history and not to lose sight of current social challenges.

The opening of the new place of learning and remembrance in Giessen is therefore not only a local event, but also provides important impetus for the discussion of the topics of flight and remembrance in Germany. In view of the increasing group-related misanthropy, the culture of remembrance is proving to be essential to promote an inclusive society.