Paths of memory – stumbling against forgetting

The Coordination Office Stolpersteine Berlin offers substantial help in realizing educational Stolpersteine projects. The help offered is directed towards schools as well as educational projects out-of-school. It targets at young people who want to search for the individual stories of Berliners who were persecuted during National Socialism. There were many reasons why people were persecuted. This variety is being expressed in the Stolpersteine project. They remember people of Jewish faith or origin, Sinti and Roma, political and religious opponents, victims of the “ Euthanasia ”-murders, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and people who were stigmatised and persecuted as being “asocial”.

Educational Stolpersteine projects
In the project, young people should be accompanied in their research by competent pedagogues who should place the fate of the persecuted into the general context of their specific persecution. Aim should be to encourage an understanding of the manifold mechanisms of stigmatisation and its continuity. Here, it can be taught that the National Socialists murder programmes had a long history of racist and political discrimination and marginalisation. This was supported by a majority of the people so that they could develop to the point of organised, systematic mass murder.

Different kinds of projects
Projects can be done by working with Stolpersteine which already have been laid. Additional biographical research can be realised and the history of the living and learning surroundings of the young people can be involved. Various forms of presentation can be chosen: multimedia tours with audio-visual information, guided tours through neighbourhoods or small exhibitions are some of the possible forms. Also, projects which aim at laying a new Stolperstein can be realised. Here, the laying of the Stolperstein is the central part of the project. Such a project takes at least 6 months.

Target groups
A Stolperstein project is directed to young people from the age of 12 on. The help offered is directed to all types of school and out-of-school education. The program will be individually put together with the teacher or educator. According to previous and current knowledge about the history of National Socialism the program will start with an introductory phase and will contextualise biographical research.

Contact
If you are interested in realizing an educational Stolperstein project in Berlin, please contact us here. The Coordination Office Berlin also published a booklet with historical background information about each persecuted group as well as help in research. You can order it here for 8,-€, but it is available only in German.