International Experts Convene to Discuss Digital Communication of Nazi Crimes at the University of Osnabrück
On July 10, 2023, international experts from research and memorial work gathered at the University of Osnabrück, invited by the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Studies, to share experiences and perspectives on digital communication in the context of Nazi crimes. Among them was Steffen Jost, Program Director at the Alfred-Landecker Foundation, who concluded the workshop with an evening lecture on “Communicating National Socialism in the Digital Space.”
The workshop was made possible by the support of the Alfred-Landecker Foundation, which funds the research program “Holocaust Migration Regime” by Dr. Sebastian Musch at the University. Dr. Musch serves as the Landecker Lecturer in Osnabrück from 2021 to 2026, conducting teaching and research.
Digital Communication of the Holocaust and other National Socialist Crimes
In their introductory remarks, Dr. Sebastian Musch and Prof. Dr. Christoph Rass highlighted the research and collaborative context surrounding the workshop. They mentioned numerous joint projects with the speakers and their respective institutions, where digital public history plays a crucial role. Additionally, current activities at the University of Osnabrück focus on imparting digital competencies to history students, providing access to creating and using 3D models of historical artifacts in VR environments.
Transnational Digital Remembrance of Maly Trostenez
Dr. Aliaksandr Dalhouski from the History Workshop in Minsk reported on a project conducted jointly by the IBB-Dortmund History Workshop, the University of Osnabrück, and the University of Vienna. The project involved digitally exploring the extermination site of Maly Trostenez near Minsk, where thousands of people, including Jews from Western Europe and Belarus, civilians, prisoners of war, and resistance fighters, were murdered between 1941 and 1944 under German occupation. The international project team, mainly consisting of students from Belarus, Austria, and Germany, created digital exhibitions, multilingual guided tours, and 360-degree tours of the current memorial site. These digital resources contribute to maintaining virtual access to this Holocaust extermination site, especially under the challenging political conditions resulting from the pandemic.
Potentials and Challenges of Digitally Documenting, Analyzing, Mapping, and Communicating Holocaust Sites in Ukraine
Dr. Svetlana Burmistr and Alexandra Wroblewska from the Memory Network discussed the difficulties of remembrance work in the context of the Holocaust in Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The Memory Network, based at the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, has been developing a network of initiatives in Ukraine that manage hundreds of mass graves and memorial sites, documenting their history, preserving the locations, and making them accessible through educational efforts. Digital solutions have become increasingly essential, particularly in documenting the destruction of Holocaust remembrance sites due to Russian attacks. The project is collaborating with the University of Osnabrück to develop a platform that provides local initiatives with documents and information to support their work, including future field research to locate and document mass graves.
From Conventional Visits to Virtual Visits: Digital Access at Bergen-Belsen Memorial
Stephanie Billib from the Bergen-Belsen Memorial highlighted their pioneering use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) offerings in Germany and Europe. The former camp’s structures have been projected onto the memorial site for over a decade using tablets. Billib presented ongoing projects to create a complete 3D reconstruction of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and its surrounding infrastructure. She emphasized the technical challenges and the didactic and memorial education aspects when employing VR technology.
Digital Tools at the Gestapokeller Memorial and Augustaschacht Memorial Site
Dr. Michael Gander, representing the Augustaschacht-Gestapokeller Memorial, reviewed the experiences of a medium-sized memorial site using digital methods and tools during the pandemic. Virtual tours and workshops proved helpful even under normalized conditions, allowing flexible virtual visitations and educational opportunities during winter. The increasing significance of VR offerings and digital public history for educational and exhibition purposes at the memorial, particularly given its limited physical space in Osnabrück Castle, was highlighted. The memorial incorporated digitally scanned data from the Osnabrück Gestapo files into modules of the current exhibition, developed in collaboration with the University of Osnabrück.
Revealing the Emsland Camps as a Conflict Landscape Through Digital Means
Dr. Sebastian Weitkamp and Jacqueline Meurisch discussed the collaboration between the Esterwegen Memorial and the University of Osnabrück, where digital methods and tools played a prominent role. The joint project, Boden|Spuren, conducted between 2020 and 2023, investigated Emsland camp locations using historical, geophysical, and archaeological methods. The results were transformed into digital exhibitions and tours, now accessible online. The significance of digital offerings, allowing virtual or on-site access, was underscored for a memorial site spanning over a hundred kilometers. The collaboration continues with a recently approved Pro*Niedersachsen project, expanding digital exploration and communication at the memorial site, led by the Chair of History Didactics.
Low-Tech VR as an Opportunity for Activating, Reflective, and Discursive Remembrance Culture?
In the final presentation, Prof. Dr. Christoph Rass presented ideas about using 3D models and VR environments, enabling students to engage creatively, even without advanced technical skills. He referred to various projects in the field of digital public history that his team executed in collaboration with students, aiming to enhance digital competencies and extend authorship in historical communication within the digital space. Additionally, Rass discussed concepts and initial results from a UOS-LehrZeit project focusing on a VR-based exhibition in Osnabrück, representing monuments related to violence, war, and peace. The interdisciplinary project aims to provide students with digital competencies, transforming them into critically reflective creators of historical digital resources.
VR in Practice
Following the presentations and discussions, participants had the opportunity to experience practical demonstrations of 3D models in VR environments from projects and lectures by the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Studies. The workshop attendees immersed themselves in 3D landscape models, explored monuments in VR, and completed digital tours using VR goggles. Many of the demonstrated applications were part of projects discussed during the workshop, showcasing the diverse strengths and weaknesses of different tools and the decreasing technical and budgetary barriers in utilizing complex digital resources, making such applications feasible in smaller projects and education.
Sophie Scholl on Instagram and Virtual Roses: Communicating National Socialism in the Digital Space
The workshop concluded with a public evening lecture by Steffen Jost, focusing on conveying the history of the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes through social media platforms. Jost based his considerations on research findings regarding the translation of communication efforts from established media formats to the digital realm. He emphasized the potential of new media lies not merely in emulating traditional formats, such as books or films, on social media but in developing specific communication and presentation methods. Jost discussed various historical offerings from memorial sites, illustrating the challenges of successfully translating content into the language of each platform. It became evident that while many successful formats already exist, the systematic development of skills to become effective “creators” at the intersection of research, education, and social media is crucial.