More than 110 students and teaching staff at the Poly Bludenz took part in the “conversation with eyewitnesses”. Topic: Learning from history for a peaceful coexistence.
©Dietmar Maier
Bludenz. “Learn from past mistakes so that injustice cannot be repeated and the future becomes more humane.”
This was the motto of the “eyewitness talks” at the Polytechnic School in Bludenz. More than 110 students and teachers listened to the explanations of Ingrid Portenschlager (73), a second-generation eyewitness.
Her father, Ernst Reiter, was imprisoned in a concentration camp for four years because he had refused to take part in Hitler’s war for religious reasons. Portenschlager told how the Nazi dictatorship came about, what her father experienced in the Flossenbürg concentration camp and how these events affected the whole family – even years after the war. Many students were dismayed. “Now we understand why democracy and the rule of law are so important,” was the tenor.
“The pedagogical value of the eyewitness talks lies in showing where intolerance, skilfully fueled prejudices and hate propaganda can lead,” explains Portenschlager. “Moreover,” says school director Bettina Prax, “the current events in Ukraine make it clear how important it is to solve problems without war and violence.” Young people should also be encouraged to develop healthy self-confidence and say “no”. say about bullying, the exclusion of minorities and negative peer pressure – also with alcohol and drugs.
Info box:
14 schools in Vorarlberg took part in the “eyewitness talks” at the end of January. In March Ingrid Portenschlager will perform at other schools in Vorarlberg. A few appointments are still available. Information from the “Verein Lila Winkel” or by e-mail to [email protected]
