This September, three new volunteers joined the Foundation. During their voluntary service, Casey and Tasya (Action Reconciliation Service for Peace) as well as Robert (Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr Kultur) will get to know the Foundation and the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. They will work in different departments and also realize their own projects. Here they introduce themselves:

Hello, my name is Casey. From September 2023 to August 2024, I will be volunteering with Action Reconciliation Service for Peace at Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial in the public relations department. I am from Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, in the USA. I graduated in May of 2023 from the Pennsylvania State University with my master of art’s degree in Anthropology and my bachelor of art’s degrees in Anthropology, History, Jewish Studies, and Middle East Studies, with certificates in Museum Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies. This year, I will also be volunteering at Psychosoziale Arbeit mit Verfolgten in Hamburg. During my volunteer service at Neuengamme, I look forward to learning more about the memorial, the history of National Socialism, and the memorial’s educational initiatives.

Hi, I’m Anastasiia, but Tasya is better. I’m 21 years old and for a long time I’ve been involved in politics in Russia. A few years ago I worked as a journalist and wrote about current oppressive states. Then I joined Veliky Novgorod Memorial to write about political prosecutions by USSR government and to help the today’s Russians commemorate their difficult past. And now I’m here, in Neuengamme memorial. Now I can delve even deeper into historical research to find away the reasons how and why humiliation and cruelty sometimes become an ideology. I’m happy about working in Archive department. Here I can read through lots of stories of Russian-speaking USSR soldiers, who were detained in Neuengamme concentration camp. I hope that one day I’ll make a guided tour and share them with visitors. So I should study a lot to understand the history and legacy of this place.

Hello, I'm Robert, the new FSJ volunteer at the memorial. I come from Hamburg and am 18 years old. After graduating from high school this year, I wanted to take a break for a year and find out what suits me best. That's why I decided to do a voluntary social year. Since I am very interested in history, I came across the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial. Therefore, I hope that I can gather new knowledge in the coming year and contribute to ensuring that the memory of what happened does not fade. I am looking forward to an exciting year.