Eigentlich sollte eine öffentliche Lesung mit Jennifer Teege in der Schule stattfinden. Diese konnte jetzt als Videokonferenz mit den deutschen und israelischen Teilnehmer*innen des Austausches durchgeführt werden. Außerdem wurde die Schüleraustauschbegegnung aus Mitteln der Initiative „Schulen:Partner der Zukunft“ (PASCH) des Auswärtigen Amtes gefördert und durch den Pädagogischen Austauschdienst (PAD) des Sekretariats der Kultusministerkonferenz unterstützt.

Die Schüler*innen hatten sich im Vorfeld mit dem Buch „Amon Göth. Mein Großvater hätte mich erschossen.“ beschäftigt und in einer Videokonferenz das Gespräch mit der Autorin vorbereitet.

Jennifer Teege ist Enkelin des KZ-Kommandanten des Konzentrationslagers Płaszów bei Krakau Amon Göth, den viele aus dem Film „Schindlers Liste“ kennen. Sie hat erst im Alter von 38 Jahren erfahren, dass Amon Göth ihr Großvater war und geriet dadurch in eine tiefe Krise. Ihr war es wichtig sich mit ihrer eigenen Familiengeschichte auseinanderzusetzen und ihre Erkenntnisse daraus mit anderen Menschen weltweit zu teilen.

Unsere Schüler*innen haben einen viel größeren Abstand zu den Geschehnissen im Holocaust, aber auch ihre persönliche Familiengeschichte dazu. Sie wollen aus der Vergangenheit lernen und die Gegenwart und Zukunft aus diesen Erkenntnissen für alle friedlich und menschenwürdig gestalten.

Für alle Schüler*innen war dieses erste virtuelle Treffen mit der Partnerschule in Israel und Jennifer Teege sehr berührend.

Dies sind einige Reflexionen der Teilnehmer*innen:

• My name is Gil and I really enjoyed the interview with Jennifer Teege. It made everything I read in the book more interesting, it was interesting to listen to her answers to the question we asked and I think it was a great that we had the opportunity to interview her.
• I was really impressed by her story and it was one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It made me think of another aspect of the holocaust  and it’s effect on our life today.
• In my opinion her story contributes to our exchange because it refers to the young generation in Germany and how they handle with the topic of the holocaust. It also can show the Jewish people how the non-Jewish people in Germany think of this issue.
• I think her story furthers the point that even with our past, the difference between the Israeli and German delegation are behind us, and that we should still bond.
• The conversation with Jennifer was interesting and powerful. I think that the conversation contributed to the delegation by hearing the story directly from the source. The discussion helped me to know better about her personal life story. The questions pointed toward Jennifer made the discussion more enriching and detailed. It was important to see how she deals with the situation. Tal
• In my opinion it was a great idea to invite Jennifer Teege to discuss with us about her life story and to have the honor to personally meet her. I’m certain that Jennifer had made on everyone an impression of a strong and independent woman thanks to her special and unique personality. One of the things I learned from Jennifer’s way to handle her life with everything she learned, is to stay true to yourself and if you have any kind of issue with something or someone, don’t let it change who you are. Her story has contributed to our delegation by giving us an example, to not judge people by their relative’s actions. Tomer
• I think that the story really contributes to our exchange because we can talk about the book. The book is in common to both delegations. I think that it was good to invite Jennifer because she could answer our specific questions and in addition it was nice having the option of talking with her and seeing her face to face. Avian
• Jeniffer’s story definitley made an impression on me, as I believe it is a story of tremendous courage and a will to explore that should be an insparation to many people. We can learn from her that a person’s past does not define who they are in the present.
• Her story encourages us to learn more about our family’s histories, in the hopes of finding something we should know about ourselves. I think it was great inviting Jennifer to our exchange, as her story is amazing regardless of the situation, but compliments our exchange very well. Re’em
• The video conference with Jennifer Teege was very interesting. It is impressive how she deals now with it and lives her life, and that she answered all questions from the video meeting so openly. Furthermore, it’s brave that she made her story public. I think she is an idol for many people.  Lara

Der virtuelle Austausch wird noch weitergeführt. Dafür gibt es bereits viele Ideen. Die persönliche Kommunikation findet ebenfalls gerade virtuell statt.

Die Schüler*innen wünschen sich aber ganz dringend eine persönliche Begegnung und hoffen, dass diese irgendwann im nächsten Jahr stattfinden kann.

© R. Zimmermann-Grob 2020