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Guided tour "Just ask!"

In the “Just ask!” exhibition, you will get to know Holocaust survivors Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier, who spent their childhood in Kippenheim in Baden. They were initially happy there - until exclusion, persecution and deportation by the National Socialists changed their lives forever. Their paths led them via the Gurs and Theresienstadt camps to the USA, where they began a new life. In two digital interactive testimonies, they share their personal memories - impressive, approachable and authentic.

During a guided tour, you will learn more about their life stories through pictures, documents and films. Afterwards, you will have the special opportunity to encounter the digital testimonies of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier - life-size, interactive and in dialog: Ask your own questions and get first-hand answers. Finally, we invite you to join us in conversation: What touched you? What do you think of this new form of remembrance and encounter? And: What do these voices mean to us today - at a time when there are fewer and fewer contemporary witnesses?

Group size: maximum 20 people

Duration: 60 minutes

Target group: open for all

Price: free of charge

Note: *For all school classes, the group size can be increased after consultation. For school classes we recommend our workshop "Just ask!"

Workshop "Just ask!"

In the workshop, you will get to know an innovative format: the digital interactive testimonies of Holocaust survivors Inge and Kurt.

In preparation for interviewing the interactive testimonies, you will explore the “Just ask!” exhibition and work in a team to explore the lives of Inge and Kurt. Together, we will place specific life events in the context of contemporary history and talk about topics such as National Socialism, the persecution and extermination of European Jews, survival, emigration, flight and exile. We also think about contemporary witnesses and discuss how we will remember in the future.

You can see here how the interview with the interactive contemporary witnesses works.

Group size: maximum 25 people*

Duration: 120 minutes

Target group: students starting grade 9

Price: free of charge

Note: With a total duration of four hours, the workshop can also be held as "Just ask - plus!".

* The group size can be increased on request.

Workshop "Just ask! - plus"

The workshop is an extension of the “Just ssk!” workshop. Depending on your interests and prior knowledge, you can choose between the following in-depth topics:

Digital historical culture

After an initial discussion about digital remembrance formats, you will get to know Inge and Kurt's interactive eyewitness interviews in the “Ask!” workshop. As a team, you will test other digital memory formats and document your impressions and evaluations in a poster. As a group, we will then discuss the opportunities and limitations of the respective offerings.

Culture of remembrance

After the “Just ssk!” workshop, we will broaden our perspective: What do we mean when we talk about a culture of remembrance and why is remembering important? You will deal with different positions, discuss them in a team and form your own opinion. In the workshop, we will also deal with the demand for a “line in the sand” as increasingly expressed by the AfD, but also in parts of the population.

We recommend this extension if you have already studied the history of National Socialism in depth in class.

Escape and exile

Based on Inge and Kurt's biographical experiences, you will explore the long history of escape and migration. As a team, you will look at migration movements since the 17th century and think about their conditions and reasons. What distinguishes the escape from the National Socialist dictatorship from other migration movements?

Group size: maximum 25 people*

Duration: 240 minutes

Target group: students starting grade 9

Price: free of charge

Note: Only bookable in combination with the “Just ask!” workshop.

* The group size can be increased on request.

Workshop “The police in the Nazi state using the life stories of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier”

The workshop uses the life stories of Holocaust survivors Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier as an introduction to police activities under National Socialism.

During a tour of the “Just ask!” exhibition, participants will explore the ways in which the police were involved in National Socialist persecution and extermination policies. The topic is explored in greater depth using contemporary historical sources and discussed in plenary sessions.

During the questioning of the digital interactive testimonies of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier, the perspective of those affected will then come into focus and it will become clear what effects police actions could have under National Socialism.

The workshop will also focus on discussing points of contact with the present and one's own everyday working life. To what extent is German history relevant to the police? What can be learned from it? In other words, which tasks and limits of legitimate action of a citizen-oriented police force in a pluralistic society can be derived from it?

Group size: maximum 25 people

Duration: 300 minutes

Target group: Police officers, inspectors, police officers in training or studying, multipliers in the police sector

Price: free of charge

Workshop "Just ask! - for children"

The workshop takes a child-friendly approach to Inge's digital interactive testimony.

Together we will explore the “Just ask!” exhibition and learn about the story of Holocaust survivor Inge and her doll Marlene. We will look at the life of Inge's Jewish family, the creeping exclusion and violent persecution during National Socialism and the new beginning in the USA.

Afterwards, you can ask Inge questions in the interactive interview. There will also be interesting insights into the technology behind the interview.

Finally, we will get creative and reflect on Inge's life story.

As an introduction to the topic, we invite you to bring along an object that is important to you and with which you associate a personal story.

Group size: maximum 15 people

Duration: 120 minutes

Target group: children from age 9 to 12

Price: free of charge