The transition from the memories of the generation that experienced the events and their direct descendants to memories based on historical sources, media, and artifacts marks a profound turning point. As the distance in time from National Socialism expands, there is a risk of a loss of meaning and empathy. This is exacerbated by disinformation, historical revisionism, and the political instrumentalization of memory. At the same time, an increasingly diverse society, digital transformation, and global crises are changing perspectives on history and the requirements for its communication.
The EVZ Foundation is responding to this change with innovative and interactive educational formats. In theater projects, classrooms, virtual learning spaces, and international encounters, it supports educators, artists, and activists in translating history into contemporary formats and to network across Europe. It strengthens a transnational culture of remembrance that draws on different perspectives and encourages reflection.
It is crucial that young people themselves become active as researchers, narrators, or enquirers. They shape the culture of remembrance of tomorrow. Peer-to-peer learning promotes a self-determined, critical awareness of history and enables historical topics to be linked to one's own reality.
Today, history must also be taught in a non-formal and accessible way. For example, in 2017 in the play Rastplatz Marzahn (Marzahn Rest Stop) young people explored eyewitness accounts and historical sources at the historic site of a former collection camp for Sinti and Roma and presented their findings in their own theatrical production.
Innovative, interactive formats such as the graphic novel and serious game “Max Mannheimer – ben jakov Überlebenskünstler” (Max Mannheimer – ben jakov Survival Artist) – winner of the 2025 Educational Media Award – are making their way into the digital space. Users can playfully discover the stages of Max Mannheimer's life, make decisions, explore historical sources, and immerse themselves in eyewitness accounts.
This work is accompanied by the representative MEMO studies (since 2018), which regularly record the current state of remembrance culture in Germany and Europe. The data shows where there are gaps in knowledge, which aspects of Nazi history are underestimated or perceived in a distorted way, and where educational work is particularly needed. On this basis, the EVZ Foundation can develop targeted, evidence-based offerings that close gaps, stimulate discussion, and keep the culture of remembrance alive.
