Bridging past, present and future

CODE: ICJA2603

Work:

Your support is needed to help in the build up of the actual highlight: From July 17 to July 19 there will be an international festival. We will offer several workshops on the topics of promoting democracy, combating anti-Semitism and racism as well as a lot of live music and a variety of artistic performances. The festival will address current issues in the region relating to anti-democratic structures, as well as the current situation in Israel and Gaza. It is all about exchange and networking for a just and democratic society. Secondly, we need your help in some maintenance stuff – renovating, cleaning, plant cutting or else. It is light work.

Study part: The study part is about the history of the estate, a history of Jewish self-organisation under the pressure of National Socialist persecution. How can culture of remembrance function in rural areas? What is the significance of remembering the past at all for our societies today? What are the challenges? Theoretical aspects of democracy and the possibilities of developing a place for meeting and learning in orphaned rural areas are the focus. If desired, excursions to other sites can also be organised.

Accomodation and food

Accommodation is in shared rooms. In the same building where the bathrooms and communal kitchen is located. As there is only one shower inside, outdoor showers can be used as well. Wi-Fi will be available. In the afternoons/evenings there are always possibilities for a campfire, table tennis, bike rides to the lakes or to nearby Fürstenwalde.

Location and leisure

The Neuendorf im Sande estate is about 5 kilometres from the small town of Fürstenwalde and can easily be reached by bicycle from the railway station there. In Fürstenwalde there are shopping facilities, a swimming pool, cultural and leisure activities. There is a public bathing area at Lake Trebus about 15 minutes away by bike. From Fürstenwalde train station it takes about 30 minutes by train to the centre of Berlin. Bicycles are provided by the project. The Neuendorf im Sande estate is run by a collective of people from a wide variety of backgrounds who organise cultural, art and educational events or work the estate's land agriculturally. There are often evenings together around the campfire and a lot of desire to meet and exchange with international guests. Visits to other, similar community projects in the region can also be offered.

Project hosted by

In the project "Gutshof Neuendorf im Sande", the history of the site is documented and made accessible to the public. In the 1930s, the estate was a hachshara site, an agricultural training estate where the increasingly persecuted Jews were to be enabled to leave Nazi Germany through agricultural training. From 1941, the estate became a forced labour camp, and in April 1943 the last Jewish residents were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where many were killed. In GDR times, the farm was a state-owned property. The project offers workshops on history and political topics, organises concerts, readings, film evenings and theatre performances and wants to become a meeting place for the region. We see the project as a place where a shared vision of a solidary and democratic society without racist exclusion can be developed. For more info, please visit: https://www.zusane.org/ and https://geschichte-hat-zukunft.org/

Directions to meeting point

Additional comments

An interest in Jewish history and remembrance work, a willingness to do light manual work indoors and outdoors and a desire to get to know the project and its people are desirable. Motivation letter is needed. You should be able to ride a bike so that the group is mobile in the countryside.