Younion 2024 – Looking back

A youth encounter for young people from Germany, Poland, Italy and Ukraine. Under the motto “Diversity in Remembrance” the 2024 edition took place in Görlitz and Zgorzelec between 20 July and 3 August.

YOUNION (former WORCATION) is an international youth exchange for young people from Europe where they live and work together for two weeks. The group takes part in different workshops during the day. The workshops revolve around the Second World War and around prisoners of war imprisoned in Stalag VIII A – a prisoner of war camp (1939-1945). Today Stalag VIII A is a place of memory and education for people from around the world. It is located in the European Twincity Görlitz-Zgorzelec (located at the German-Polish border).

The participants of the project have worked in three workshops over the last two weeks:
An archaeology workshop, where the young participants were able to learn about the history of the site through the artefacts that once belonged to prisoners of war from Stalag VIII A. Uncovering the artefacts was a tactile way of reliving the stories of the soldiers imprisoned here and getting an idea of the fates that befell them.In an audio workshop, the participants explored the history of the site through the medium of music and sound.

Music is inextricably linked to Stalag VIII A. Inspired by Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet on the End of Time, the participants translated their own feelings and impressions of the camp – now the Stalag VIII A memorial site – into music.

In an art workshop, which was led by two workshop leaders, the participants used film art techniques to commemorate the victims of Stalag VIII A. In the second part of the artistic workshops, an exhibition was created that refers to the different nationalities and origins of the prisoners of war.

The main theme of the YOUNION youth encounter is “diversity in remembrance”.What does that mean?

The theme of diversity can be found in many facets of the encounter. Let’s start with the historical one. As you will see in the presentation of the results of the individual workshops, many nationalities were represented in the Stalag VIII A prisoner of war camp. Captured and taken abroad for the purpose of forced labour, Poles, Italians, Ukrainians, Belgians, French, British, New Zealanders and Canadians, among others, were crammed together in the smallest of spaces in order to exploit them for the purpose of keeping the German economy, which was geared towards the war, running. Many people from different cultures found themselves in the camp reality of Stalag VIII A. Despite the language barrier, the goal was a common one: to survive.After a long period of oblivion – of forgetting about fates, suffering and hardship – we now find ourselves in a place of remembrance. A place of remembrance for the victims of the terrible war that cost countless people everything.

Today, visitors gather here to commemorate and remember the fates of those who were exploited and died here. It is with this goal in mind that we have been organizing YOUNION. At YOUNION, national borders are erased and this year Italians, Poles, Germans and Ukrainians with different characters and backgrounds are united by a common goal: to remember.

But remembering is becoming increasingly difficult. From generation to generation, we are moving further and further away from the events of the Second World War and the terrible suffering of so many different groups of people. This makes it all the more important to establish new forms of remembrance and counteract forgetting. Artistic and creative forms of communication can build a bridge and move young people.

Because remembrance is multifaceted. By dealing with difficult-to-grasp topics relating to the Second World War and the German crimes against humanity through extracurricular education approaches and creative formats, we have the opportunity to pass on our knowledge and serve as a reminder.

In view of the terrible war being waged by the Russian aggressor in Ukraine, it becomes particularly clear how important it is to warn and appeal to reason, peace, freedom and independence from umbrella powers that destroy cultures, languages and human lives to achieve their perfidious goals.

Unfortunately, freedom, peace and independence cannot be taken for granted. But we as Europeans and we as part of Younion are united by a common motto: Together we are strong. We are all different, and we are united. This is Younion.

Fot. Jakub Purej, Meetingpoint Memory Messiaen e.V.