News
The jubilee of 10 years of the European Centre Memory – Education – Culture
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the European Centre Memory – Education – Culture in Koźlice near Zgorzelec (the former Stalag VIII B) the managing Foundation “Memory. Education. Culture” organized a jubilee conference entitled “To overcome oblivion. A troublesome heritage and its challenges”, inviting also our Museum to participate in it.
The conference was held on 12 December at the seat of the European Centre Memory – Education – Culture. An important point in its programme were special appearances, including the speech made by President of the Foundation Kinga Hartmann-Wóycicka who opened the event. Apart from this, she also delivered a paper that cast light on the works to date dedicated to restoring memory of Stalag VIII Görlitz. There followed papers of the invited specialists, among which there was one presented by Dr Violetta Rezler-Wasielewska, Director of our Museum. Her paper under the title “Decade by decade... Do sites of remembrance keep up with modern world?” was focused on a confrontation of tasks ahead of institutions of societal memory nowadays with changes that are going on in this memory, among others, the passing away of witnesses of the historical events.
The substantive part of the conference was closed by the panel discussion entitled “Historical-civic education in a site of remembrance. Contemporary challenges”, moderated by our colleague of the Scientific Department Dr Anna Czerner. One of the participants, beside representatives of the Foundation, local government and educational authorities, was a representative of German sites of remembrance, who has been cooperating with the Foundation (and us) – Jens Nagel of the Zeithain Site of Remembrance. The conference was concluded with a performance by students of the musical school of Zgorzelec, which aptly underlined the significance of the local commonwealth of remembrance of the POW past of the place.
We are grateful for the invitation and want to congratulate the European Centre Memory – Education – Culture on their first successful decade of activity in the Polish-German borderland!