On March 13, colleagues from the network met in Jamlitz/Lieberose in Brandenburg. We visited the Justus-Delbrück Haus Lieberose/ Akademie für Mitbestimmung Bahnhof Jamlitz and the Jamlitz-Lieberose Memorial Site. 

The theme of the day was “memorial work and social work in times of a rightward shift.” The event was co-organized by colleagues from the Justus Delbrück House, the Jamlitz-Lieberose Memorial and the Mobile Counseling Service against Right-Wing Extremism. 

The Justus Delbrück House is located in the former train station in the village of Jamlitz, not far from the site of the former subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and the Soviet Special Camp No. 6 that existed there after 1945. The aim is to make co-determination, participation, democratic values and principles tangible and to teach these values at the site where the history and the impact of two dictatorships are visible and commemorated.  

The Justus Delbrück House offers activities for young people and young adults who are not involved in society. The programs are designed specifically for young people who are homeless, socially disadvantaged or who suffer structural discrimination. They have the opportunity to live on site and receive socio-educational support. The residents of Jamlitz Station, who have taken part in many educational seminars at Justus Delbrück Haus | Akademie für Mitbestimmung, are seen as youth in training. In cooperation with a seminar leader, they take responsibility for conducting an educational seminar. 

We learned about the history and work of the Justus Delbrück House and one of the former residents gave us a guided tour of the Jamlitz-Lieberose memorial site. Afterwards, we talked about how to deal with current right-wing and far-right strategies for memorials and museums, which were presented to us by a colleague from the Mobile Counseling Service against Right-Wing Extremism (MBR). After this, we held discussions with colleagues and residents of the Justus Delbrück House about how to deal with stigmatization, prejudice and right-wing extremist statements. For many of the Berlin members of the network, visiting this project in Brandenburg was a completely new experience. Many were impressed by the work being done on site.