Among the 20 million Gulag prisoners there were hundred of thousands of citizens of European countries. In contrast to the fact that people from many European countries have passed through the Soviet camps, there is a lack of general awareness about this common European part of history. The younger generation, especially in Western Europe, has little idea that something like the Gulag existed. Although the situation in Central and Eastern Europe is slightly better, it is also not satisfactory. Moreover, hundreds of abandoned Gulag camps are still located far away in remote parts of Siberia, and they are almost inaccessible for visitors. There are no school excursions, no museums, and often even no information that it is a place of former camp. The main aim of the project is to create a learning model based on ‘Extended Reality’ - virtual and augmented reality and new ICT technologies - of the Gulag camps and the history of Soviet repressions. Our ambition is to increase awareness of totalitarian systems among young generations. Didactic application of the resulting educational tools using virtual and augmented reality will make it possible to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of teaching the 20th century history (and in other areas and subjects as well). It will be developed by a consortium of organizations from Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Czechia, which focus on the education and the topic of Soviet repressions against their nations. The leading organization is the Czech Gulag.cz Association, which has been developed a unique research projects of abandoned Gulag camps in Siberia. It is the only one organization in the World using modern archaeological methods in Gulag research and at the same time using new technologies to spread the information and results. New educational tools will be developed by the best and experienced specialists in new technologies, archaeology, education and didactics. It will be disseminated in all involved countries and we hope to spread it also beyond its borders, to the whole European Union. We are sure that thanks to developing the tool Gulag XR we will reach following objectives: - Raising awareness of young generation to the topic of Soviet repressions. - Focus on common, European dimension of the history of the Gulag and Soviet repressions and therefore strengthening our common democratic values. - Use of modern ICT technologies as virtual and augmented reality in schools.- - Creation of a new pedagogical model of teaching contemporary history using AR and VR, which can then be used in other areas and subjects as well
The main aim of the project was to create a learning model based on ‘Extended Reality’ - virtual and augmented reality and new ICT technologies - of the Gulag camps and the history of Soviet repressions. Our ambition was to increase awareness of totalitarian systems among young generations and increase the efficiency and attractiveness of teaching the 20th century history (and in other areas and subjects as well). We planned to reach following objectives: - Raising awareness of young generation to the topic of Soviet repressions. - Focus on common, European dimension of the history of the Gulag and Soviet repressions and therefore strengthening our common democratic values. - Use of modern ICT technologies as virtual and augmented reality in schools.- - Creation of a new pedagogical model of teaching contemporary history using AR and VR, which can then be used in other areas and subjects as well
Everybody knows the names of Nazi concentration camps. Museums created on their sites are visited by hundreds of thousands visitors every year. On the other hand, the names of Soviet Gulag labour camps are far less known and there is no museum built on their sites, although the numbers of the victims are similar to those who died in the Nazi camps. Up to 20 million (mostly innocent) people passed through the Gulag system and at least 2 million of them died. The victims of the Soviet repressive system (collectivization, displacement, mass execution, Gulag camps) were not only Soviet citizens but also citizens from other European countries. However, there is a lack of general awareness about this common part of history. It was our ambition to raise awareness of totalitarian regimes among youth and highlight that these too constitute part of our European heritage. The project has fully addressed the needs originally outlined. We have developed a multidimensional educational program that promotes critical historical thinking in children through augmented and virtual reality technology, with the potential to prompt a genuine paradigm shift in the teaching of history.