„A particularly important Belarusian-German project is the Historical Workshop in Minsk, which was founded on the territory of the former Minsk ghetto. Belarusians and Germans are working there to build a worthy future through joint memories of the past”
Former German President Johannes Rau, April 2006
One of the largest ghettos in the Nazi-occupied territory of the Soviet Union was located in Minsk. In it and in the nearby death camp Maly Trostenets, hundreds of thousands of people were exterminated: Jews from Minsk and its environs, Germany and Central Europe. Soviet prisoners of war, prisoners of war, underground fighters, civilians of non-Jewish origin were also killed in Trostenets.
In the BSSR, the official history of the Great Patriotic War was interpreted in the discourse of the heroic struggle of the Belarusian people and partisans against the Nazi invaders. Soviet anti-Semitism made it impossible to publicly recall the persecution and extermination of the Jews of Belarus. Only a small obelisk on the territory of the former ghetto reminded of the suffering and death of Jews. Former prisoners installed it in 1946 on the territory of the Pit, where thousands of Jews died.
In the 1990s. after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the first initiatives appeared in Germany and Belarus aimed at ensuring that the history of the Minsk ghetto and the Trostenets extermination camp was remembered in society. On the territory of the former Jewish cemetery in Minsk, memorial stones began to be erected in memory of the murdered fellow citizens by representatives of the cities from where the deportations took place. The “Pit” monument was reconstructed and supplemented with a figurative composition by the architect of the “Khatyn” memorial complex Leonid Levin. Members of the associations of former victims of Nazism, as well as historians and the public concerned from both countries, increasingly drew attention to the need for more information about the history of the Minsk ghetto and camp Maly Trostenets.
In the current situation, the international educational centers in Dortmund and Minsk, as well as the Union of Belarusian Jewish Organizations and Communities, decided to create a Historical Workshop in one of the few surviving buildings of the former ghetto. As a place of memory, historical and political education and research, since 2003 it has been inviting everyone who wants to study the history of the Minsk ghetto, the Trostenets death camp and other National Socialist crime scenes in Belarus. It opens up opportunities for all interested, witnesses, scientists from Belarus, Germany and other countries to conduct a joint dialogue, express their own point of view on history, based on different perspectives, and fight prejudice. This is not only an important prerequisite for mutual understanding and reconciliation between peoples, but also another step in the creation of a cross-border historical culture of remembrance of the Holocaust and World War II in Europe.
The Leonid Levin Historical Workshop is engaged in the study of previously unknown topics in the history of the Second World War, especially the events from the history of the Minsk ghetto and the Maly Trostenets extermination camp that have been little studied in Germany and Belarus. It publishes the results of its own research and personal recollections of witnesses, publishes scientific collections, collects archival materials and organizes seminars, conferences and science clubs. The research programs touch upon topical issues that expand the knowledge of teachers, museum and social workers on the issues of the Holocaust and the culture of war memory, there is an open dialogue between youth, teachers, historians, representatives of various public associations of former prisoners of ghettos and concentration camps, as well as forced Belarus, Germany, Ukraine, Poland and Russia.
The ongoing educational seminars, the oral history club with the involvement of qualified specialists help to improve the professional level of teachers and teachers, specialists in museum and archival affairs, and social workers. The results obtained on the basis of intercultural dialogue of generations in the educational and scientific fields are presented in the form of book publications and exhibitions. This is largely facilitated by the joint work of German partner organizations in Dortmund, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Jena and others.
Much attention in her work is paid to the memories of witnesses of historical events. Also, with the help of Belarusian and German volunteers, a number of interest clubs, thematic events, meetings, presentations, exhibitions, educational excursions and trips for the purpose of psychological support and their integration into public life are held for witnesses of military events.
Throughout its 15 years of existence, the Historical Workshop has become a prominent phenomenon in the cultural and scientific life of Belarus and its capital, Minsk. Through its wide range of activities, it contributes to the developmentculture of memory and educational practices, organizing regular meetings of the younger generation and witnesses of the war, historians, students and schoolchildren, free discussion of the most pressing problems in the form of seminars, round tables, creative meetings of representatives of various public associations. New materials and exhibits on the history of the Holocaust, the Minsk ghetto and the Trostenets extermination camp, collected by the Workshop, allow us to get closer to reducing the white spots in the history of Belarus.
The history workshop will be able to work more successfully if more people support its activities. Therefore, we appeal to you with a request:
- send us information about the victims of the Minsk ghetto and Trostenets known to you, the Holocaust in Belarus, including those who were deported to Belarus from Europe during the war to electronic e-mail info.gwminsk@ibb.by;
– come to our Historical Workshop and take part in our thematic tours and events.
More information about the work of the History Workshop can be found on the History Workshop website gwminsk.com