Last Prisoner Story goes on - What happened this year

About the project

After the project “Last Prisoner´s Story” took place in Konstantinovka in 2011 and its great success for all sides, a follow-up project happened from the 1st till the 15th of April in 2013. Again young volunteers from different countries travelled to the city Konstantinovka in Eastern Ukraine (Donetsk Oblast). Participants of the project work and study in five different countries – in Austria, Germany, Italy, Moldova and Ukraine. 

The aim of the project is to collect biographical interviews of former “Ostarbeiters”, women and men from Eastern Europe, who were forced to work in the Third Reich during World War II. Also the project establishes connection and exchange of youth among the participating countries, by providing space for informal learning about the past and a working environment in a truly international groups and conversation between the participants and local youth. 

About our work

The main aim was to conduct interviews with contemporary witnesses (the former “Ostarbeiters”) and to spread their stories. 

In the beginning of the project, two historians and members of the Ostarbeiter Club in Konstantinovka provided workshops on the historical background and research methods used in the project. Furthermore conducting of interviews was trained during a public interview with a former “Ostarbeiter”. Since the interviews touched sensitive topics, the situation of the interview could lead to emotional and psychological stress for both the interviewees and the interviewers. For this and other reasons the methodological training on conducting interviews was crucial. 

The work was carried out in internationally assembled groups. All groups conducted interviews simultaneously in Ukrainian or Russian and English. To preserve the valuable information, all interviews were recorded and photographs of the interview situation were taken. 

The results of the project will be presented in Konstantinovka in the public library during a special event. There the personal histories of the interviewed people will be presented and their stories will be told.  All follow-up information of the project and photographs will be communicated on this blog.

Informal learning environment and youth exchange

Besides those main activities, lots of other things happened during the project. The project started with a meeting and a warm welcome by members of the local Ostarbeiter Club in Konstantinovka. During city walks in Konstantinovka and by visiting its local museum, participants had the chance to learn about the city´s history and effects of recent historical changes. The Industrial Technikum in Konstantinovka (KIT) made great efforts to support the participants´ aim of informal learning by showing its facilities, its museums of local culture and technical products and presentations made by its students. A guided trip through the streets of the neighbouring town Artomovsk conducted by Ms. Natalia Shukova presented once again the colourful past of the region. During the tour Ms. Shukova presented old pictures of the town and information about cemeteries of German and Austrian soldiers which were founded during the occupation of Artemovsk.

 During a conference organized by the High Professional College in Konstantinovka the participants of the project had the chance to meet local students and talk and learn about their different homecountries. By visiting Donetsk - the regions´ cultural and economical center - and the famous Donbass Arena also touristic interests of the participants were met. In the town Alexandro Kalinovo which is situated closely to Konstantinovka, the participants were welcomed by students and teachers of the local school and also visited the local museum on rural culture and life of the region. The visit was concluded by a ceremony of planting a tree (called “Kalina” – a symbol of this specific Ukraine region) in front of the school building and setting free white doves as a sign of peace and transnational mutual connection and understanding. 

Trips to regional places heavy with culture and important in Ukraine´s history, such as Soledar Saltmine, Kleban Byk regional landscape park as well as to the monastery Svyatogorsk topped off the whole project. 

Acknowledgement

We, the participants of the project, are very grateful for having the opportunity of talking to people who carried their harsh stories for many, many years unnoticed and silently and collecting their memories as well as getting to know life in Eastern Ukraine. 

We also would like to thank everyone who made this project possible: Olya Usachova; Khrystyna Arkhytka and Philipp Remde for organization of the project; Mr. Vladimir Berezin, Mr. Bredechin, Mr. Ban Ivan, Mr. Konstantijn Venchov, Mr. Andrej Taraman and Mr. Attip and many more volunteers for their great support of the project.

Special thanks to all former Ostarbeiters, who were willing to share their though stories with the young generation and the public in general. 

The project was supported by the “Youth in Action” programme. Participating organizations were SCI Austria, SCI Germany, SCI Italy, AVI Moldova and SVIT Ukraine. 

Pia Constanze Höring & Jakob S. Kriz