Xenophobia Revisited - World War II and the lessons (not) learned in the 21st century

We are happy to invite you to our upcoming project Xenophobia Revisited –World War II and the lessons (not) learned in the 21st century that will take place from 21st - 26th of May 2017 in Weimar, Germany. This call is currently open for participants living in Germany and Portugal. Other participating countries include Estonia, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Slovenia. Especially in light of the Refugee Crisis of 2015 and the resurgence of xenophobic, far-right movements across Europe in its wake, it has become increasingly clear that the lessons once learned in the horrors of World War II are yet to be understood by broader parts of today’s European population. Our idea for ‘Xenophobia Revisited’ is, thus, to use the recent rise of right-wing, anti-minority sentiments in Europe as an occasion to re-evaluate the methods and methodologies of remembrance work and how the lessons learned from World War II can be better anchored in today’s European societies. In doing so, the training course aims to evaluate and improve current methods of remembrance work and education about WWII, highlight best practices using modern media, widen the participants’ reach in presenting the lessons learned about the Second World War, and thus encourage active citizenship across national lines today. To reach the aims of the project, the workshop will focus on the following areas: - To promote modern methodologies and best practices in remembrance work - To discuss and highlight the effects of and lessons learned from recent events in Europe on history education. - To promote the knowledge and use of modern media formats in history education - To discuss prevalent media-narratives in Europe today and their chances and challenges for remembrance work - To promote active citizenship in Europe on the basis of the lessons learned from the Second World War Throughout the program, the topics outlined above will be discussed using a variety of methods of informal education and as well include meetings with experts and excursions to the former Concentration Camp Buchenwald in Weimar and the Topf & Söhne remembrance site in nearby Erfurt. A more detailed program will be provided to the participants upon their selection.