A group of pupils and teachers of the gymnasium of German Nienburg helps in the improvement of the territory of the former Viciebsk ghetto and other important places for the Jewish community, said the head of secondary school No. 21 Sergei Zybin.
"A little more than a dozen gymnasium students from the sister city of Nienburg, as well as teachers and other adults who are close to the Holocaust theme, visit Viciebsk from August 20 to August 26. In addition to getting to know Viciebsk, they are still setting the scene on the site of the former ghetto. And our school is just in the area. The delegation came at the invitation of the city Jewish community, with whom we are closely cooperating, "said Sergei Zybin.
He explained that since 2015, on the basis of the school No. 21, the UNESCO Pride Club has started to work – to somehow involve problem youth in socially useful activities. At the same time, the project "Viciebsk Ghetto: Prevent Oblivion" was launched: many events were held to preserve and strengthen the memory of the Holocaust and the Viciebsk ghetto.
"We began to cooperate with veteran organizations, former juvenile prisoners, began to care for a small memorial on the bank of Dźvina, and then last year we held a large conference with the participation of representatives of almost all Jewish organizations in Belarus.There were close contacts with the writer, journalist, author of the book" Viciebsk ghetto: the chronicles of the terrible days "by Arkady Shulman, and gradually our activities became known abroad, and the Germans themselves offered to visit us as volunteers," added the director P school.
The club "Pride" is supervised by the history teacher Elena Kutovskaya. She said that the guests' visit from Nienburg began on August 19 – first they visited excursions in Minsk and Khatyn. For the last days in Viciebsk foreigners have visited several excursions – both in Jewish places, Shagalov quarter and museums, and in the whole city. They took part together with Belarusian schoolchildren in a round table where the topic of the Holocaust was discussed in the perception of modern youth, and Arkady Shulman as an expert; Held together an international flashmob #NOT A TARGET ("I'm not a target"), joining the worldwide movement against terror. And already from August 21 to several hours a day, German volunteers, along with the activists of Pride, are engaged in the improvement of the Viciebsk ghetto and the Jewish cemetery and on the site of the construction of a new synagogue.
"I am glad that there is no age conflict between the senior German students and our 9-10 graders, and the knowledge of English by both sides further helps to understand each other." Every day the children spend together, work, play, communicate. "The program includes a visit to the Marc Chagall House Museum , Children's art school number 1, familiarity with the history of the Jewish community of the city, a variety of cultural events," – added Elena Kutovskaya.
The international exchange program was initiated by the Sputnik Youth Tourism Bureau and the Ningburg City Hall.
Yekaterina Knyazyeva, belta.by
Photo: tut.by
