The grammar schools in Krumau (CZ), Untergriesbach (D) and Rohrbach (AT) are situated an hour’s drive from each other, within the triangle border of the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Our towns are connected by the experience of dreadful past events of the 20th century, especially those of the Nazi era. During excursions which will last for several days, pupils and teachers of our schools will meet at memorial sites commemorating atrocities committed during the national socialist period. Nürnberg, Passau, Hartheim, Mauthausen, Wien, the Sudetenland within the triangle, Theresienstadt (Terezin) and Prag are the places to be visited. The project will culminate in and be completed by the joint production of the opera “Brundibar” by Hans Krasa. With this project we would like to contribute to a culture of memory which should protect our and the next generations from similar doom. Together with the young people entrusted to our care we want to learn from the fateful events in the past. We are eager to understand that nationalist, chauvinist and inhuman tendencies must be overcome in order to maintain a peaceful Europe. In the opera “Brundibar”, the children Pepicek and Aninka fight evil with the help of many other children. In real life, it’s us.
The grammar schools Krumau (CZ), Untergriesbach (D) and Rohrbach (AT) are located in the so-called triangle border and are less than an hour's drive from each other. Sorrowful historical events of the 20th century, especially the Nazi era, connect us with one another. In excursions lasting several days, around 50 15-16 year old pupils and teachers from the partner schools met at places of remembrance of the Nazi atrocities. In Austria, a three-day excursion led to Hartheim and Jewish Vienna, where there was an impressive encounter with Helga Pollak-Kinsky, a survivor of the Theresienstadt ghetto. Jewish Vienna then and now was the thematic focus during these three days. A one-day hike in the border region of the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany to destroyed places in the Sudetenland followed a few weeks later. The theme of the second excursion was Nuremberg, the site of Nazi party propaganda and the site of the Nuremberg Trials. The role of perpetrators of the National Socialists in Germany and Austria was examined in more detail in several workshops. On a third excursion to Theresienstadt we went to the place where the children's opera "Brundibár" by Hans Krasa was performed more than 50 times. Here, too, the participants completed several workshops in which they learned about the terrible events in the Terezín ghetto. Here, too, the encounters with contemporary witnesses Eva Merova and Helga Pollak-Kinsky, who had already met the participants in Vienna, were particularly impressive. A one-day visit to Prague marked the end of the excursion to the Czech Republic. The planned highlight and end of the project, the performance of the opera "Brundibar" by Hans Krása as a joint production of all participating schools, fell victim to the corona pandemic, which made travel between the partner schools impossible. The preparations and rehearsals for the opera performances were at this point so advanced that the opera production should be rescheduled after the end of the project. With our project, we have succeeded in making a contribution to a culture of remembrance that is intended to protect us and future generations from similar fates in the future. Together with the young people entrusted to us, we were able to learn from the events of the past. We could see that for a peaceful Europe nationalistic, chauvinistic and inhuman attitudes have to be overcome. In the opera "Brundibar" it is the two children Pépicek and Aninka who, with the help of many other children, eliminate evil from the world. In real life it's us.