- To bring together young people from different countries and deepen their understanding of history, enabling them to gain insight into the period of National Socialism;- To show how two different camps as the result of two dictatorships could exist in the same place; - To go deeper into how the administration and extermination machine worked;- To consider oneself as part of history and of today's society, and taking responsibility for the future. Different guided tours are planned, e.g. to the "Topographie des Terrors" (http://www.topographie.de/en/), to the "Haus der Wannseekonferenz" (http://www.ghwk.de/), guided bicycle tours through Oranienburg and to other places connected to the German history.The participants of the workcamp will give their assistance to the memorial site especially in the form of manual work. Please be prepared for a huge study part and less physical work. The group will prepare a camp map of their project in the end. It is possible that workshops are run by volunteers from the memorial.
Study part:
Besides the manual work the study component will be an important part of our project. Volunteers will learn a lot about the time of National Socialism, the Holocaust and also something about the period after World War II especially the Soviet camp Sachsenhausen until 1950. Guided tours in and around the memorial site Sachsenhausen and excursions to different memorials and places of earlier German history are planned. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work in the exhibitions and in the library of the memorial site. Furthermore there will be several discussions with employees who perform guided tours and are involved in historical research. The international volunteers with their different backgrounds will inform the group about the memories and commemoration in their countries.All participants should have a very good knowledge of the English language and should be very interested in history and the present problems of neo-fascism and racism.
Work part:
The common learning at the historical site of Sachsenhausen shall be supplemented by manual work which constitutes the participant´s contribution to the maintenance of the memorial. This part will be rather small.
Accomodation & food:
You will be accommodated in a youth hostel, The building is on the grounds of historical Sachsenhausen concentration camp complex, and was built in 1938 as the official residence of the "Concentration Camp Inspector", 2 km away from the memorial centre.
Location & leisure:
In the free time it's possible to go to Berlin or Potsdam. Volunteers will find many forests and lakes to walk, cycle or just relax. However, the free time activities will mainly depend on participants' ideas. Volunteers should be prepared for the organisation of evenings about their country, including special topics.
Requirements:
Volunteers have to be able to ride a bike, because various shorter and longer bicycle-tours are planned.
work: In this year the project in Ravensbrück will continue to connect practical work and study with youth meetings.It is planned that the group will work on the area of the women's concentration camp. There are many different tasks to be done: cleaning the area of wild growing vegetation, environmental work and investigation work. Your help will be needed to clean sculptures, to prepare a working site and to do other works outside.
Study part:
In the memorial, there are many possibilities to read about the history of the women's concentration camp and about the background of fascism. Volunteers can use materials from the library and the archives in different languages. A main topic for the study part will be the special camp, where the participants work. A dance / Hip Hop workshop is planned (just for one day).
Accomodation & food:
You will live in a youth hostel near the Ravensbrück memorial. The rooms are very comfortable; a maximum of 4 persons will live in one room. Shower and toilets are next to the rooms. Bed linen will be provided.
Location & leisure:
The small town Fürstenberg/Havel is located in a very beautiful area with lakes and rivers, so volunteers will have the possibility to go swimming. But - of course - it depends on the weather. Similar to previous years, a canoe-trip could be organised and/or meetings with German youths. Please consider that the free time planning will mostly depend on your ideas and wishes.
Requirements:
For this Workcamp it is necessary to have (very) good English skills! German skills are beneficial.
- To bring together young people from different countries and deepen their understanding of history, enabling them to gain insight into the period of National Socialism;- To show how two different camps as the result of two dictatorships could exist in the same place; - To go deeper into how the administration and extermination machine worked;- To consider oneself as part of history and of today's society, and taking responsibility for the future. Different guided tours are planned, e.g. to the "Topographie des Terrors" (http://www.topographie.de/en/), to the "Haus der Wannseekonferenz" (http://www.ghwk.de/), guided bicycle tours through Oranienburg and to other places connected to the German history.The participants of the workcamp will give their assistance to the memorial site especially in the form of manual work. Please be prepared for a huge study part and less physical work. The group will prepare a camp map of their project in the end. It is possible that workshops are run by volunteers from the memorial.
Study part:
Besides the manual work the study component will be an important part of our project. Volunteers will learn a lot about the time of National Socialism, the Holocaust and also something about the period after World War II especially the Soviet camp Sachsenhausen until 1950. Guided tours in and around the memorial site Sachsenhausen and excursions to different memorials and places of earlier German history are planned. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work in the exhibitions and in the library of the memorial site. Furthermore there will be several discussions with employees who perform guided tours and are involved in historical research. The international volunteers with their different backgrounds will inform the group about the memories and commemoration in their countries.All participants should have a very good knowledge of the English language and should be very interested in history and the present problems of neo-fascism and racism.
Work part:
The common learning at the historical site of Sachsenhausen shall be supplemented by manual work which constitutes the participant´s contribution to the maintenance of the memorial. This part will be rather small.
Accomodation & food:
You will be accommodated in a youth hostel, The building is on the grounds of historical Sachsenhausen concentration camp complex, and was built in 1938 as the official residence of the "Concentration Camp Inspector", 2 km away from the memorial centre.
Location & leisure:
Important! Volunteers have to be able to ride a bike, because various shorter and longer bicycle-tours are planned. In the free time it's possible to go to Berlin or Potsdam. Volunteers will find many forests and lakes to walk, cycle or just relax. However, the free time activities will mainly depend on participants' ideas. Volunteers should be prepared for the organisation of evenings about their country, including special topics.
Requirements:
Volunteers have to be able to ride a bike, because various shorter and longer bicycle-tours are planned.
Several organizations of the German peace movement are currently running a campaign to ban the last nuclear weapons which are stationed in Germany. In the eighties huge campaigns out of the civil society has been successful and most of the intermediate-range missile, called Pershing II, has been disarmed in Germany. But in our world there are still more than 14.000 nuclear weapons remaining. Twenty of them are still kept in the airbase Büchel. They belong to the US Army and in case of war they would be flown by German pilots. Instead of abolished, as the International law demands, these weapons are going to be upgraded. The Campaign Büchel is everywhere – Global Zero Now demands the stop of the so called modernization of the bombs, the removal from Germany and a legal ban all nuclear weapons. There is a fasting campaign each summer to support this goals. The organizations “International Fellowship of Reconciliation” and the “Friedenswerkstatt Mutlangen” support this action. This year their activities will start in Berlin and address the diplomats and politicians of countries possessing nuclear weapons, by talks and street actions. At the 6th August the group will travel to the nuclear deployment site Büchel / Eifel in West Germany to continue with activities there. Task of the workcamp will be to accompany a fast campaign for a world without nuclear weapons with Street theater and art actions. For further information please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1570472896616508/
Study part:
The participants will receive information about nuclear weapons, ongoing nuclear armament programs and efforts to disarmament and the ban of nuclear weapons. We are preparing for talks in the embassies of the nuclear weapon states and the countries in which nuclear weapons are stationed. We will exchange information about our own experiences of non-violent forms of action.
Action:
We agree and prepare the actions and practice them and the conversations in the embassies. Participation in the fasting is voluntary. In the actions also people of the local peace movement will take part.
Leisure:
The participants visit attractions in Berlin and in the second part of the Mosel.
Accommodation:
We sleep in tents. They are situated in Berlin in the garden of a church and in Büchel in a meadow near the air base, where the nuclear weapons are stationed. Sleeping pad and sleeping bag to be brought. We prepare together vegetarian food.
Languages:
English and German
Additional costs:
We ask for a contribution of 50.- Euro for the travel costs during the workcamp.
Welcome:
Participants from the nuclear weapon states and the countries in which nuclear weapons are stationed, we are particularly pleased.
Terminal:
The workcamp starts in Berlin (North Eats of Germany, main train station Berlin), at the 6th of August the group will travel to Buechel / Eifel and continue the activities there. At the end group travel to Mainz (Mainz Main train station West Germany).
Volunteers are invited to redesign and repair a big mural in the village. It was first created by international volunteers as a triptych in the years 1983 i 84. Aim of the mural is to promote peace and to show different aspects of peace work. First version referred to the impact of cold war , later in the year 2000 there was added the importance of justice as basic principle for a peaceful society. This year we will add some more aspects and topics and it is also necessary to renovate some parts of the mural. Doing this requires some talent for designing and painting.Participants who prefer to do manual labour, are invited to do some garden work or help with renovating another room in the center. Study: We will learn some essentials of peace work and get basic non-violent conflict management training. In the second week we will visit the former concentration camp of Bergen Belsen, and have some lessons on European history in the first part of the 20th century. Volunteers will have the opportunity to spend an evening in a German family and reverse, the group will invite the people of the village and region to an Evening of encounter (Abend der Begegnung) in the rooms of the Peace Center.
Accomodation & food:
The accommodation of the participants is carried out in rooms with 4 beds each. There are bed sheets available. Food is prepared together in the kitchen of the seminar house.
Location & leisure:
In the leisure time, the group can use facilities of the seminar house and make an excursion to Hannover or Braunschweig.
Continuing the World Heritage Volunteers projects having taken place since 2012 at the World Heritage site Classical Weimar the project will support the revitalisation of abandoned parts of Belvedere Park. The volunteers will – based on historical plans and in intensive cooperation with the site management – uncover and restore historical paths which had been disappeared some decades ago. A part of the group will – alternating from day to day – carry out different gardening and preservation works in other parks belonging to the World Heritage site in mixed groups of international volunteers and local workers, in the same time enabling the participants to get to know the diversity of the World Heritage site Classical Weimar. In these parks are many sloping areas where it is only possible to deal with manual work. The volunteers will support the works as cutting grass, cleaning paths, etc. The study part will give the theoretical background for the project. Depending on the interests of the volunteers there will be lections and guided tours about Classical Weimar mostly organised by Classic Foundation Weimar, the main project partner. The study part will also bring the project and the World Heritage Volunteers programme in general into a wider public. It will include meetings with the press and presentations held by the participants about World Heritage sites of their home countries.In their spare time the volunteers will have the possibility to visit museums and exhibitions – for the duration of the project they will have free entrance to all museums managed by Classic Foundation Weimar. The best way to be mobile in a town like Weimar with a lot of gardens and parks is to discover it by bike. Therefore the participants will have during their stay bicycles for their disposal, which they also have to use to reach the different working places. Depending on the interests of the volunteers an excursion to another historical complex will be organised on the weekend – to Gotha Residence Castle with its park, which is one of the biggest parks in Germany and includes the eldest English garden outside Great Britain.
Accomodation & food:
shared 6- or 8- bed-room in a hostel in the city
Location & leisure:
Weimar is a beautiful small city, located in the middle of Germany in the state of Thuringia. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries this small town saw a remarkable cultural flowering. Enlightened ducal patronage attracted many leading German writers, composers and artists to the town, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Franz Liszt, thus making Weimar the cultural centre of Europe at that time. This development is reflected in the high quality of many of the buildings and parks in the surrounding area. "Classical Weimar" was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998, the 20th site in Germany to be recognised as World Heritage. "Classical Weimar" comprises twelve individual buildings and ensembles, all of which portray tangible and intangible elements of Classical Weimar's cultural heritage. Weimar's City Castle, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, Goethe's and Schiller's residences, the Town Church, the Ducal Vault with the Historic Cemetery and many others are included on the World Heritage List.
Weimar's historical parks and gardens connect the historical buildings and their surrounding grounds and are a key feature in the "Classical Weimar" collection:
the Park on the Ilm with the Roman House and Goethe's Garden House, Belvedere Park with its Castle and Orangery, Tiefurt Park and Castle and Ettersburg Park and Castle. During the 20th century Weimar became the birthplace of the Modern Movement in architecture and aesthetics. "Bauhaus" was developed by merging the Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts and the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts. "Bauhaus" had, and still has, a profound influence upon developments in art, architecture, design and typography. The "Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau" are listed as UNESCO World Heritage, too.For all this historical marks Weimar became in 1999 European Capital of Culture.
Program: To remember i to meet i to understand and to work for the future will be our guiding slogan in these two weeks. We will learn about the history of the concentration camp Dachau and other aspects of the Nationals Socialism in Germany. We will always ask: What did we learn about this? Where do we find racism, antisemitism and discrimination today? The program consists of different workshops, discussions with eye-witnesses and Holocaust survivors, guided tours through the Memorial Site, tours in Dachau and Munich, day trips. There is also time for personal conversation, sports, parties and the chance to experience the historical sites from at the present time.
Accomodation & food:
Accommodation is at the Dachau Youth Guest House in rooms for four people. The participation fee includes: full board and lodging, together with the cost incurred by the program.
Location & leisure:
There will be free time for fun and games, day-trips, entertainment, getting to know the people, going to cafes, etc. However, please notice that there is not enough free time for self-organized day trips during the IYM.
Requirements:
Please bring clothes which suit the work and the weather, musical instruments, games, songbooks or whatever you want for the leisure time... Materials of the study part of the camp, a map of your country, photos and things that help you to describe your country to other participants of the workcamp.You should have a working knowledge of English and/or German to communicate without any difficulties. You should be interested in various subjects and in taking part in workshops.A letter of motivation is neededAdditional costs: Additional fee of 160, - is including boarding, lodging and the program. To be payed upon arrival.
Group-focused enmity, social injustice and ecology in what's the link? Industrial companies have almost always exported their social costs to developing and third-world countries. Because of this, habitats and livelihoods in under-developed nations are destroyed. This, in turn, leads to the suffering population in these countries migrating in the direction of the western industrial nations themselves. As a result, the current existing social injustices arise, as well as the consequent fears of increasing hostility towards migrants and foreigners. In the study part of the camp, we want to critically analyse this distressing development and reflect on our own behave with regards to this topic. In the working part of the camp we will be carrying out maintenance work and extension work on the infrastructure of the education establishment where we ll be staying. Overall, we will be trying to change our view of the social processes in our society, to discuss alternative ways of dealing with this topic, and to work on the utopian idea of a heterogeneous social area of society. The well located grounds of the Gohrde train station education establishment is a place of learning for socially critical and ecological thoughts and actions.
Accomodation & food:
You ll be staying in an educational establishment, in a restored, listed train station building. You will cook your own meals together.
Location & leisure:
The beautiful landscape of the Lower Saxon Elbe River Valley Meadows and Gohrde offer many exciting opportunities for day-trips.
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
