Visiting Program 2022
As part of our International Bridge-Building initiative, Widen the Circle brought eight American activists, scholars, and organizers, along with three German Obermayer Award winners, for an immersive week of learning and sharing in Germany, June 9-15. Each of the participants has expertise in using the lessons of history to combat today’s challenges.
We started in Berlin, where we participated in the annual Widen the Circle Summer Forum, a three-day learning and sharing event. We also visited with a group of inspiring high school students who are using remembrance work in creative ways to combat bigotry today.
Then we traveled to Saxony, a state with an active and growing far-right presence, to talk to leaders whose organizations are on the front lines in combating hate, misinformation, and denial of the past. Finally, we returned to Berlin, where we visited the brick wall memorial that has become an extraordinary teaching tool about the Holocaust and Germany’s past for elementary school students.
We had ambitious goals for this visit and the results, in terms of learning, sharing, and making new connections, exceeded our expectations. Simply put, it was eye-opening for every participant, and it’s a program we hope to repeat every year.
Read about the program and participants.
Watch the keynote: How to prevent the rise of right-wing populism: Perspectives from the USA and Germany
Born in a Displaced Persons Camp
Shoshana Bellen, born in a German displaced persons camp for survivors, shares her story with Visiting Program participants. With her is Jonathan Coenen, vice chair of Badehaus, a museum that tells the story of the camp.
Reflections on the Visiting Program: Dr. Karlos Hill
Dr. Karlos K. Hill reflects on his experience during the 2022 Widen the Circle Visiting Program. (Filmed in Berlin.)
This Wall Brings People Together
Students at this Berlin elementary school, built on the site of a synagogue, have been building a wall for the past two decades. It delivers a powerful message about community.
A Home for Holocaust Survivors, a Complex History
What happened to the survivors when they were liberated from Nazi concentration camps? Citizens for the Badehaus shines a light on a little-known history and has connected with a generation of children born to Holocaust survivors as they reclaimed their lives.
A refuge, a greenhouse, a place to confront the past
Treibhaus started as a refuge for young people in an area where Neo-Nazi violence pervaded youth clubs. Today, it’s a vibrant gathering place with intergenerational support. Meanwhile, they are helping rewrite their town’s history and shining a light on a past many people did not want exposed.