© Kreisarchiv Emsland
The project highlights Meppen railway station as a site of deportation, forced labor and historical erasure, combining historical research with digital approaches to foster an inclusive culture of remembrance.
We are researching the role of Meppen railway station in the Nazi era: also a deportation point for Jews, Sinti and Roma, an arrival point for forced laborers, inmates and prisoners of war, and a connecting station to private railways. Our project makes these traces visible by means of biographical storytelling, interactive maps, exhibitions, installations and workshops. Photos and sources from archives were incorporated in digital and analog educational material, as were contributions from history workshops and initiatives . Student assistants and historians broaden the research into the Reichsbahn and local railroad companies, while formats such as guided tours, creative workshops, lectures and discussions involve the public. The aim is to get political education across accessibly, to make local history available and to highlight the subsequent history and how commemorative sites were handled critically while at the same time initiating a process of reflection.
More information at our project website.
The Adult Education Center (Volkshochschule, VHS) is a nonprofit limited company with 480 permanent employees and around 450 freelance teachers. It serves a population of more than 100,000 and offers approx. 70,000 teaching hours to more than 15,000 participants every year. Since it was founded in 1988, it has developed into one of the biggest further education centers with six sites in the former district of Meppen. The educational programs are aimed at all people and age groups for social, cultural and professional participation. The Adult Education Center is not just a place of learning, but also a social and cultural meeting place. Offering full-time and part-time courses, seminars, in-person, online or hybrid workshops, it supports lifelong learning. We implement national and international projects on inmates and prisoners of war in Emsland camps, on the prevention of antisemitism and teaching about democracy for socially deprived and disadvantaged participants with/without a migrant background.
