About the Portal of Remembrance

The Portal of Remembrance documents international commemorative events of the Volksbund and its partners throughout Europe and provides information on the historical background of the various commemorative days and places. Exemplary educational and remembrance projects are presented and literary texts, songs as well as didactic materials and practical tips are provided.

The war grave cemeteries and memorial sites abroad bear witness to the violent history of the world wars, the Shoah and other crimes against humanity. At the same time, the creation and joint maintenance of war graves and memorial sites by the various national war graves services is an expression of rapprochement and understanding in the course of European unification. And: The cemeteries are places of personal sympathy and interpersonal encounters of relatives, residents and visitors of different generations and nationalities.

Often, long-standing friendly cooperations have developed on site with local authorities, embassies, schools, church communities and associations from the region, which are embedded in a cross-border network of the various partner nations and visitor groups from all over Europe and beyond. Where once there were battlefields or places of persecution, war grave cemeteries and memorial sites have become nodes of living transnational landscapes of remembrance. 

Through cemetery exhibitions, educational and encounter projects in international cooperations, the cemeteries become historical places of learning about a violent and eventful European history. The common mediation of historical knowledge and the multi-perspective reflection no longer separate, but connect.

This is also what the memorial portal is intended to show as a supplement to the online offerings of the War Graves Commission. War gravesites as places of learning abroad are only part of what can be found on the portal. Dates at home and abroad, practical tips and background information are further offers at this place.

The Volksbund is happy to receive remembrance culture event information, project documentation and other materials for publication.

Contact:

Referat Erinnerungskultur und Netzwerkarbeit (Remembrance Culture and Networking)

erinnerungskultur@volksbund.de

+49 (0) 30 / 230 936 22

Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. (German War Grave Commision)

Lützowufer 1

10785 Berlin

Germany