A brief history of the volunteer blog
At the end of 2020, the volunteers at Buchenwald Memorial decided to start a blog to document their experiences while working here and share them with the world.
In this blog (that is only available in German) they reviewed their first day of work, talked about their tasks and experiences and reported on current events surrounding the memorial and their work as volunteers. They also used their blog to present interesting results and historical events that they came into contact with during their work.
On the one hand, the blog then served to document their own experiences. On the other hand, the blog also played a role publically: It represented the volunteers' perspective on the memorial, thereby allowing a look behind the curtains of volunteer life and serving as a point of orientation for potential
A new blog is born
That is the history with which this blog was created here. Our year (2023/2024) decided to move the blog to the website of the memorial to have more creative freedom and make the blog more accessible. That is why every article will from now on be available in both English and German and automatically adapt to the website's language setting.
At this point, our volunteer year is nearing its end and we have experienced a lot that we want to look back on. "Us", that is:
Introductions
My name is Helena, I am 19 years old and finished my "Abitur" in 2023. As a volunteer at Buchenwald Memorial, I mainly work in the field of
My name is Meike Bihr, I am 21 years old and am completing my volunteer year at Buchenwald Memorial through the LKJ. I finished my "Abitur" in 2021 and then went on to complete a 2 year apprenticeship for architectural drafting. I always dreamt of completing a volunteer year before starting my university studies. At Buchenwald Memorial, I can apply my interest in history and its connections to educational work. I am thankful for this opportunity and looking forward to the coming months.
Hello! I’m Sara! I am from the USA and am excited to be working here at Buchenwald this year. In 2022 I completed my International Studies Bachelor and would like to start a Master’s program after this volunteer year. I enjoy working with the Inclusion Project and with the “Forced Labor under National Socialism” Museum which opened in May. I like being outside and going hiking, but when I am not outside, I like to read and bake.
And my name is Maximilian. Last year, I did my "Abitur" and only decided on a whim to look for places to volunteer at. Fortunately, I discovered a spot at Buchenwald Memorial that allowed me to combine my interest in history with my wish to do educational work. I enjoy writing (as I have done with this article) and when I am not doing that, I can probably be found reading.
