In the Comenius project the students and two teachers of the German School in Oslo have worked together with a German, a Polish and a Danish school for two years, and have learned about the history of World War II and the effect it had on the different countries and their culture of remembrance.

Denmark, November 2008

In Denmark we learned a lot about the Danish view of World War II. Through a presentation held at the Danish museum of defence we were told about collaboration and resistance of the Danish population and government. During the interview with the time witness Mogens Dyhre we got a realistic impression of the situation of the Danish prisoners who werde deported to German concentration camps.
We found out that at the beginning of the war, all the Danish prisoners were at the  Frøslevlejren, a Danish concentration camp. Towards the end of World War II the deportation of Danish prisoners to Germany began. First then the Danish, who had mostly collaborated before, started to show more resistance.

We met the former resistance fighter, Mogens Dyhre, who is still sceptical
towards Germans. He was imprisoned in Neuengamme and saved
by the white buses.

Presentation of the multinational group work.

Szczecin, Poland, March 2009

Our second trip with the Comenius project was to Szczecin, Poland. We learned about how the borders were moved after the WWII, and what effect it did have on the people. The eastern German border was moved westwards, and areas that were formerly Germany, now became Poland.
Also, the eastern Polish border was moved, and parts of Poland became the Soviet Union. We spoke with time witnesses which lived in those regions then, and how they had to leave their homes and often families in terrible conditions, not knowing what awaited them. I think the trip was both educating and fun, we were welcomed warmly.

This is our group from the DSO, which visited Poland from 23rd till
26th March. Together we were ten students and two teachers.

Students talking to Renate Jaschke. She is a German time witness which
was forced to stay in Poland when the borders were moved. Her father was a
ship constructor, and was therefore forced to stay by the Russians, he was
needed because of his profession. Renate was often treated badly,
because she was German.

Germany: November 2009
During our Comenius meeting in Germany, we focused on the overcoming of the past.
We visited two memorial sights : The former concentration camp in Neuengamme a and the former concentration camp for females in Ravensbrück.
The time witness Morgens Dyhre, we interviewed in Denmark, had been imprisoned in Neuengamme, from where he was rescued with the White Buses and brought back to Denmark at the end of the war.
The atmosphere at the two former concentration camps was very oppressive and disturbing. The awareness of our past became stronger than ever before at those locations.
 

This are figures made by Inger Gulbrandsen to deal with her situation
in the concentration camp Ravensbrück. Inger Gulbrandsen is a former
Norwegian resistance fighter who was saved with the white buses.


 
In Ravensbrück we put down some white roses in front of the
memorial to express our sorrow and sympathy.

Norway, March 2010

“To remember and never forget” - the seminar
in Oslo (1st -4th March, 2010)

The project work of the German School in Oslo was focused on:

The situation of the Norwegian people during the war

Norway was largely unprepared for the German military invasion when it came on the night between April 8 and April 9, 1940. Norway was occupied by the Germans till the end of the Second World War (1945). At that time there were about 1400 Jews in Norway, out of which around 750 were deported to German concentration camps.
We talked to Eva Chava Savosnick, whose father was one of the few Norwegians who survived Auschwitz and came back to Norway. Chava explained that ‘the only thing that kept him alive was the strong will to see his mother again and tell the world about the horrible life in concentration camps.’
During the war the people had to make a choice. They either could risk a lot, even their lives to fight for what they thought was right, for their freedom and the freedom of their country. But there was also the other choice, to collaborate with the enemies, in order to save their lives and the lives of their families. The choice was not easy for anyone. It was a choice between a life in a world which was wrong and brutal, or fighting for a life with values, but that life was dangerous and unsure, and many didn’t have enough courage to oppose the Germans.
The people who supported the Germans were later punished, the women who had children with German soldiers were treated badly.

Resistance in Norway
The Norwegian king fled to England. From there he organized the resistance. There was a lot of resistance in Norway. An important resistance group was the “Oslogjengen” who sabotaged the Germans with help of the king by for example destroying ships. Many of the resistance fighters were caught and brought to German concentration camps, but this didn’t discourage the resistance.
During our project work we interviewed Inger Gulbrandsen and Sigurd Syversen, who were both part of the Norwegian resistance, were caught and imprisoned in German concentration camps.

Quisling and his helpers (collaboration)
Vidkun Quisling (18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian army officer and politician. From 1942 to 1945, he served as prime minister  of the collaborationist Norwegian government, after being appointed by the German authorities. Today in Norway and other parts of the world, the word "Quisling" has become synonymous with "traitor".
Acceptance and collaboration
Of the Norwegians who supported the „Nasjonal Samling party“, relatively few were active collaborators, but about 15,000 Norwegians volunteered for combat duty on the Nazi side; of the 6,000 sent into action as part of the German SS, most were sent to the Eastern front.
 

Our multinational Comenius-group: Teenagers from  Poland, Denmark, Germany
and Norway worked together and found out about their mutual history

At the Holocaust Senteret we worked in different groups.

Here we see a multinational group presenting their group work results
about the German occupation of Norway

Eva Chava Savosnick with a picture of
her father Robert Savosnick.

How to deal with our past?
Many young people ask themselves how to deal with the past. Most importantly, the past should not be forgotten. It is good to learn about it and to remember it.

Many young Germans feel guilty about the actions of the Nazis in the war.  In order to learn about our history and to reconcile the injustice done to innocent people, some young people join voluntary groups. A good example for that is ASF- Action Peace Reconciliation Service.

Young people live for up to one year abroad, to work for example in Jewish kindergardens or with disabled or elderly people. Additionally they talk to time witnesses in order to find out as much as they can about the History of WW II.
They want to show that they want to help instead of forgetting and that the new generation is aware of the past. They work together with people from other countries, learn about new cultures and let other people learn about theirs. Our  Comenius project also wants the students to develop tolerance and understanding.

Students´ Comments, 4th March, 2010

Denmark

I think that it has been a good meeting! The group work on the HL-center was very nice and I learned both about the resistance and spoke with people from the other groups. It was very good that it all was in English!

I think that I've learned a lot about the WWII in Norway. The Norwegian perspective was very interesting, because I haven't heard that much about it. I liked the trip to the HL-center, because we got a political view of the situation in Norway. The language was much better than the last time, so that was very nice. Thanx for all.

It is nice that we have learned a lot about Norwegian history, and have got another perspective to the Second World War. I think it is very important that we remember what has happened and learn about our faults. We have to learn and forgive.

The meeting with the representative of the ASF was very interesting and it made a very good impression on me.

It was very nice working in international groups, speaking English, because it had a good effect on the social relations between the students, which made the project more inspiring and fun.

I think that the visit at the Holocaust center was very informative, and I learned a lot about the WWII in Norway. I am very glad that the seminar was in English, instead of German this time. I think the international groups worked really well but tht the assignments were quite easy.

It has been a great opportunity to see the WW II and the HL-center from Norwegian, German and Polish point of view. The programme was really well organized, and we have learned about a lot of different things.

Poland:
It was my first time in Norway. This was a nice adventure which gave me a lot of new experiences. All those presentations we made, improved my history knowledge (WWII period). I met very interesting people and I look forward to coming back to Oslo this summer, because it's a beautiful place with friendly people. I regret it was our last meeting.

Norway:
I think the seminar was very interesting and I learned a lot. I figured, that remembrance and tolerance is something very important, even in our everyday lives. I think that during the seminar I've learned a lot about our history, especially considering the Second World War. Thank you, Comenius!

I think the seminar in Oslo was very interesting and again we got the possibility to meet teenagers from other cultures. I think it makes us open-minded, so that we can reach an international network of young people. I liked, that we concentrated on the question: How to deal with our past, so that the Holocaust and all the other terrible things which happened during WWII, will never happen again.

I really liked the talk with Chava Savosnick, because she is an interesting woman and we learned a lot. All in all I can say that i had a lot of fun these days and that we had many interesting meetings, eg. ASF Norge, with important subjects. I would have liked to continue the meeting because it is hard to get to know all the people in just four days. A little more time with the project would have been perfect.

Germany

Oslo is a beautiful city and I liked it a lot stay here for these six days. Because of the fine weather it was very nice to visit many sights.
The international group work is always a nice experience and it helped a lot to get together also in our free time. I liked the interview with Chava and the creative tasks. I would stay here longer.

We saw a lot of sights and typical Norwegian things. In the evening we had time to talk with the other pupils. We learned from the museums for example how to deal with the past. It was nice to be here.

This meeting was very nice. I learned much about the history of Norway. I improved my English and had a nice time with friends.

Students´ drawing

Students´  Poem

 “History Lesson“

Learning from our history,
An important thing to do.
We must know what happened earlier,
Even though the war is through.

Tolerant and responsible,
Chava told us we should be.
We must face the terrible facts,
And never from our past flee.