Gathering in Honour of Memory
In a unique educational initiative, Wolfgang A. Noethen's sociology class in Düsseldorf embarked on a city-wide scavenger hunt to explore memorial sites related to National Socialism and its victims. The students, numbering 19, were guided through the city, searching for and documenting various memorials that commemorate the history and victims of the Nazi era.
The scavenger hunt was originally intended as the conclusion of a project by Dieter-Forte comprehensive school, in cooperation with the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte of the city of Düsseldorf. The cooperation between the school and the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte will be expanded in the coming year, emphasized Anna Schlieck, the head of educational work at the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte.
Key elements of the scavenger hunt included locating Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), small brass plaques embedded in the pavement in front of the last chosen residences of Holocaust victims. These personalized memorials served as a means for the students to learn about the individuals they honored.
The students also visited memorials that marked the site of former synagogues or commemorated destroyed Jewish places of worship, reflecting on the history of the Jewish community in Düsseldorf and its persecution. Other memorial sites, such as the memorial stone for the largest Düsseldorf synagogue destroyed in the pogrom night of 1938, were also part of the hunt.
Engagement with other local memorials, including plaques, monuments, and sites related to resistance fighters, deported citizens, and other victims of the National Socialist regime, was also a significant aspect of the scavenger hunt.
Throughout the scavenger hunt, students were encouraged to reflect on the spatial distribution of these memorials across the cityscape and discuss the ways in which public memory of National Socialism is expressed and maintained in Düsseldorf. The activity combined sociological investigation with a tangible connection to the city’s historical landscape, fostering critical awareness of remembrance culture.
During the meetings where Stolpersteine were laid, several stimulating conversations between students and local residents occurred. The project and presentation in the plenary hall of the town hall had to be cancelled due to pandemic regulations.
Teacher Noethen carried out parts of the project with the support and advice of Schlieck, and expressed his desire to repeat the successful action with other classes. The students had to send a photo of each memorial site to their teacher via mobile phone during the scavenger hunt. The cooperation between Dieter-Forte comprehensive school and the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte will be expanded in the coming year, as Schlieck emphasized.
