Detail

The exhibition Tracing European Forced Labour. Southern Lower Saxony 1939-1945 documents the life stories of people who were recruited, conscripted or deported to forced labour in Southern Lower Saxony during the Second World War. Using the Göttingen-Northeim region as an example, the exhibition’s 13 thematic stations illustrate the extent, significance and many different forms of forced labour. Up to 60,000 people from at least 16 European countries were used as forced labourers here. A special feature of the exhibition is its European perspective. Scholars from Poland, the Netherlands and Italy have contributed articles on forced labourers from their respective countries and on more general aspects related to them. All texts were discussed and agreed upon by a joint editorial team.

The exhibition, organised by the History Workshop Göttingen, is not located on a memorial site, at a scene of Nazi crimes or in a place associated with the perpetrators. This neutral environment can be used for educational work. At the same time, however, there is no lack of authentic sites here. They are right on the doorstep: the companies and institutions that used forced labourers, and the places where people were housed in camps. As a place of learning and education about Nazi history in the region, the exhibition is aimed at everyone over the age of 15. All generations will be encouraged to engage in a critical debate about forced labour, Nazism and the experience of occupation directly at the place where they live their everyday lives.

The exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to take an active part, to integrate their own interests and to define their own focus of attention. Other documents and, in particular, a large number of film interviews with former forced labourers telling their life stories are available at multimedia stations. An interactive electronic map allows visitors to locate other former camps in the region.

The exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to take action and set their own priorities. In particular, numerous biographical film interviews with former forced labourers can be accessed at multimedia stations. An interactive electronic map allows visitors to search for former camps in the region. Further information is provided by a monthly blog entitled Aufgespürt! Fundstücke – Recherchen – Neuigkeiten (“Traced! Discoveries – Research – News”) on the exhibition website.

The exhibition is complemented by a creative educational programme. The programme offered is based on the young visitors’ knowledge of history and the time available for their visit to the exhibition. Different modules can be flexibly combined according to interests and needs. To avoid boring teacher-centred lectures, there are no conventional guided tours for school classes and youth groups. Instead, there is an exploration tour for a short visit of about 90 minutes. Using selected photos to search for in the 13 sections, young people show and explain the exhibition to each other – interactively and personally. The Göttingen History Workshop, which supports the exhibition financially, regularly organises lectures in the exhibition rooms on historical and current topics such as immigration, racism and antisemitism and antiracist activism. There are also special exhibitions with accompanying lectures and other cultural contributions to encourage a critical exchange of views.

You can find more information on the educational programmes and events on our website.