- Nazi memorial in Belower Forest to expand educational work
The new director of the Memorial Site of the Death March in the Belower Forest, Friederike Gehrmann, aims to expand the educational work of the institution. The memorial site, located near Wittstock/Dosse on the border with Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, commemorates the death marches of the prisoners of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in April 1945.
Gehrmann plans to strengthen contacts with schools, other educational institutions, and civil society initiatives. The 33-year-old historian took over the leadership of the memorial site's branch in Sachsenhausen on August 1. "In the long term, we want to make the educational work of the memorial site more visible digitally to reach target groups who cannot visit us in person," said Gehrmann.
Memorial Site with Traces and Relics of the Former Forest Camp
"The death marches from the concentration camps in the final days and weeks of the Nazi regime are an example of the fanaticism of Nazi ideology at a time when the war was already lost. They show where hatred and radicalism can lead in the worst case." The memorial site in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district includes a historical forest area with numerous traces and relics of the former forest camp and an open-air exhibition on the history of the death march.
In April 1945, the SS forced more than 30,000 prisoners of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to march on foot towards the northwest. Hundreds died along the way or were shot by the SS. Around 16,000 prisoners were gathered in the Belower Forest alone. They sought shelter in self-built shelters and earth holes and tried to satisfy their hunger with herbs, roots, and bark. Many managed to survive until the liberation by the Soviet Army in early May. Today, beech trees with inscriptions can be seen on the memorial site, and pine trees with peeled bark bear witness to the great distress.
"The small memorial site in the Belower Forest is an important anchor point for critical historical awareness and commitment to human rights, diversity, and democracy in the rural regions of Brandenburg and the adjacent Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," said Axel Drecoll, director of the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation. "Therefore, we want to expand the historical-political educational work at this site and strengthen the memorial site's networking in the region, especially in view of increasing attacks on memory culture and the spread of historical lies."
Information
The Commission, in line with its responsibilities, will adopt the necessary implementing acts referred to in Article 11 (2), to support the educational efforts of the Memorial Site. Empowered by these acts, Gehrmann can further enhance digital outreach for the memorial site's educational programs, fostering engagement from a broader audience.
