Future of Democracy: Memorials as a Key to Remembrance”

Future of Democracy: Memorials as a Key to Remembrance”

In the coming weeks, the University of Vechta will celebrate an exciting conclusion to its lecture series on the challenges for memorials to the history of Nazi crimes. The last lecture in this series will take place on July 10, 2025. The event is led by Prof. Dr. Eugen Kotte and Hannah Sandstede organized and offered insights into the important role that memorials play in democracy education.

The focus is on the lecture by Dr. Katja Drews and Kira Börnemeier from the Federal Academy for Cultural Education in Wolfenbüttel. Her lecture is entitled: "Cultural democracy education and memorial sites. How attitudes and communication shape spaces. A project report". This is about the aesthetic demands and the politically educational impact of memorials. The interdisciplinary team behind the model project brings together different perspectives from the arts, didactics and sciences. The events will take place on Thursdays in July 2025, at 6 p.m., in the university's lecture hall Q 15 ( mynewsdesk ).

Memorials as places of remembrance

Remembering the National Socialist crimes is not only important for the past, but also for our future. Memorials are essential places to remember and mourn the victims. They provide information about the crimes of National Socialism and promote learning about this dark time in our history. Only through remembrance can we ensure that such crimes do not happen again ( bpb ).

There are numerous memorial sites in Germany that deal with various aspects of National Socialism. One example is the memorial in Düsseldorf, which recently opened a new permanent exhibition entitled: “Düsseldorf children and young people under National Socialism”. This exhibition focuses on the biographies of children and young people during the Nazi era and highlights their behavior, actions and experiences under the dictatorship. Particularly noteworthy is the wide spectrum of victim groups, which ranges from Jewish children to politically persecuted people to Sinti and Roma. The unique selling point of this memorial is the special focus on the perspectives of children and young people, a rare topic in other Nazi memorials in Germany ( Nazi memorial sites ).

Central values ​​in focus

The Düsseldorf exhibition not only addresses the historical events, but also central human values ​​such as courage, hope, fear and the challenges that freedom and tolerance bring with them in dictatorship and democracy. In this way, a society-wide view of the experiences during National Socialism is taken, which is important not only for historians but for the entire population.

The memorials in Germany, from the large memorials to the many stumbling blocks that commemorate the victims of the Nazi era, fulfill an important function in our society. By remembering the past, we can learn lessons for the future and redefine humanity and human dignity that were disregarded during Nazi rule. Because that's exactly what it's all about: ensuring that something like this never happens again.