09/23/2019 News

These are our new volunteers and trainees!

Alexandra and Anna are volunteers of Action Reconciliation Service for Peace. Lars is doing a voluntary social year. They will be working at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial for a year. Lennart will be doing an internship at the Memorial for two years. You can read about their expectations and their reasons to join the Memorial in our blog.

My name is Alexandra. I studied history in St. Petersburg. I am interested in survivors’ testimonies because I want to learn more about the Second World War from people’s personal experiences. My grandmother lived in a small town near Kharkov, which was also occupied and my grandfather was a concentration camp prisoner, but neither of them spoke about that part of their lives. A year volunteering at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial might help me understand my family history better. In addition to this, I am interested in learning more about the work of the Memorial as a historical museum.

My name is Anna and I am from Kyiv, Ukraine. I am interested in history, politics and art. I studied political science in my home town and worked as an educator for first-time voters.v vI believe that my year here in Neuengamme will be interesting and allow me to gather new experiences. I would like get involved in the work at the Memorial and learn as much as possible about, for example, stories of Ukrainian prisoners and the issue of religion at the time. There are things in Ukrainian history that should be remembered and I am confident that my work here will provide me with the knowledge I can use in Ukraine later.

I am Lars Kopineck and I am 18 years old. After graduating from high school, I decided to spend a year volunteering at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. I would like to gain more insight into the history of National Socialism, but also help others develop a better understanding of it. What drew me to the Memorial was the variety of work done there. It is not just the historical but also the social aspect of the work that plays an important role for me. I am looking forward to working on many interesting projects this year.

My name is Lennart Onken, I am 25 years old and on September 1 I started my internship at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. I earned a master’s degree in Jewish Studies at the University of Potsdam and worked as a freelancer at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp Memorial. Now I have the opportunity to learn more about the work of concentration camp memorials while using my experiences and ideas to contribute to it actively. I am currently co-curating an exhibition on the topic "Survived! And Now? Victims of Nazi Persecution in Hamburg After Their Liberation", which will open January 27, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, at the Hamburg City Hall. I am also involved in the planning of commemorative ceremony which will take place on May 3, 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp. I am looking forward to the next two years and many other interesting Projects.