Erinnern, Gedenken, Lernen – Erinnerungsarbeit in Neustadt an der Weinstra e

Miriam Bre in her essay Erinnern, Gedenken, Lernen“ develops some basic thoughts on the reminiscent culture in Germany. The city of Neustadt serves her as an example to evaluate the German way of dealing with the nacional-socialist past through the time span of the last fifty years. The post-war generations show indeed a notable change of thinking when it comes to the topic of the holocaust. The mental stance of the contemporary people was primarily marked by forgetting and blocking out the events. The descendants of the post war generation, however, tend to deliberately confront themselves with the deeds of the Nazis. But how to remind oneself correctly? The essay points out possible answers to that question and discusses the necessary concepts of mediation als well as pedagogical requirements, which have to be met by teachers of history.