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In a significant move towards global citizenship education, schools in Solingen, Germany, and Ness Ziona, Israel, have come together to remember the victims of the Holocaust through a digital exchange.
On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Alexander-Coppel-Gesamtschule in Solingen and Menachem Begin Junior High School in Ness Ziona engaged in a collaborative project that involved students, teachers, and school representatives. This digital meeting, held on January 27th, was a testament to the power of intercultural dialogue and the importance of learning from history.
Mayor Shmuel Boxer of Ness Ziona participated in the digital exchange, emphasizing the importance of young people speaking with eyewitnesses like Josef Gershtein, a Holocaust survivor who joined the conversation. Mayor Boxer sees this action as a responsibility to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and serve as a warning for future generations.
In Solingen, Mayor Tim Kurzbach expressed gratitude for the digital meeting's organizers and their initiative. The Solingen Lumen, a cultural institution that has taken on the patronage of Mayor Kurzbach, has an educational mission to ensure that no student graduates without seeing "Schindler's List." Until the Easter holidays, the Lumen will show "Schindler's List" for free to Solingen school classes.
More than 20 schools in Solingen will attend the screenings of "Schindler's List," including Alexander-Coppel-Gesamtschule. This year's digital exchange is part of the Solingen Lumen's broader efforts to use digital tools for Holocaust education, which aligns with the school's focus on intercultural communication and teamwork.
The digital exchange also involved the analysis of Holocaust testimonies and archival documents, the development of multilingual and artistic presentations, and the use of digital platforms for transnational exchange and public awareness campaigns. These key components facilitate critical reflection across borders, deepening students' historical understanding and memory of the Holocaust.
The United Nations designated January 27th as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in 2005. The Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army on this day in 1945, marking the end of a dark chapter in history. More than six million people fell victim to the Nazis' genocidal ideology, with more than one million people murdered at Auschwitz alone.
This digital engagement with international schools ensures that Holocaust education remains a living dialogue linking historical memory with current global citizenship education. By confronting the past, even if difficult and painful, we can learn from history and serve as a warning for future generations.
- The digital exchange, initiated by schools in Solingen, Germany, and Ness Ziona, Israel, falls under the category of global citizenship education, encouraging intercultural dialogue and historic reflection.
- The broader efforts of the Solingen Lumen, including the screening of "Schindler's List" for schools, align with education-and-self-development and general-news, seeking to instill a profound understanding of the Holocaust in young minds and promote teamwork for a forward-looking world.
