“Ask us, we are the last …” – Remembering for the future

Mary Ward (1585-1645) was keen to give girls and women access to education and the meaning of life. In this tradition, the work of this Catholic school for girls is continued. Since 2001, students of the school have taken part in eyewitness interviews with Polish survivors, which are organized by the Maximilian Kolbe Association and the Mainz Diocese with various schools.

These personal and moving encounters with the elderly survivors, lead the pupils to visit the location of their suffering at the Auschwitz Memorial Museum, to honour the murdered there, and engage in their own deeper examination to deal with these burdening issues. In addition to historical knowledge, especially about the situation of girls and women in the camp and in the Nazi German system, questions arise about the conditions in which anti-Semitism, violence and ideology developed, as well as human compassion, mutual help and the ability to make peace.

The five-day programme includes educational offers in the Museum, the Jewish Centre in Oświęcim, a trip to Krakow, and a meeting with survivors whom they know from Mainz but now will visit in their home town of Katowice.