„Erinnern für die Gegenwart“ – Recollecting the Past for Today

140 German schools abroad were called to participate during the 2019/2020 school year in a competition on projects on commemorative culture(-s). Contributions within the respective contexts of German schools abroad were solicited, aiming at, amongst others, reworking questions around the everyday life prevailing during the time of National Socialism in Germany, and how learning and being together in a school actually happened during colonial rule. A goal of the competition was to bolster students’ awareness of the importance of commemorative culture and perceptions of tolerance.

The Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS) submitted two project proposals, both of which were successful and therefore accepted.
The first project is about a Time Capsule that was found in the corner stone during (re-)construction work of the former boys´ hostel of DHPS, Georg-Teichert-Haus. The capsule contained documents, contemporary materials such as newspapers, annual reports, money, stamps and pictures. Grade 10 learners will be taken on a journey through time in the context of their history course, and will learn how to critically engage with the materials found in the capsule. At the end of the project, a school museum will be established, containing the project results.
Divided Pasts in a Shared Country is the title of the second project. Here the goal is to develop and write a teaching unit on the history of the late 19th, early 20th century in Namibia, reappraising the divided, yet mutual history of all Namibians. This project will culminate in an excursion, prepared by the students, and a newspaper, compiled to document the knowledge and experience gained over the course of the project, and to demonstrate how historical traces of Namibia’s past are still formative influences in the present.

The conceptual and executive responsibility for both projects rests with a team of DHPS history teachers Jörg Rapp, Andreas Robisch and Katharina Wiese as well as the Namibian historian Dr Wolfram Hartmann.

(Article: Andreas Robisch, DHPS. Translation: Wolfram Hartmann)
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