RESIST - In the name of human rights

National Socialist Germany committed the most serious human rights violations in Europe during its dictatorship and World War II. Numerous countries were occupied by the National, others cooperated with the German Reich. But everywhere in Europe between 1933 and 1945, there were people who opposed the National Socialist crimes and offered resistance. Their actions were guided by a focus on human rights, the restoration of the rule of law and the liberation of their countries from National Socialism.

Today, resistance against National Socialism is increasingly viewed from a transnational perspective. The project "RESIST 1933–1945. In the name of human rights. Teaching/learning materials dealing with resistance against National Socialism in Europe using the example of France and Germany 1933-1945" provides educational materials on this topic.

The materials are available in German and French language.

Contact

Project Lead

Profilfoto Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange Profilfoto Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange
Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange
Director
Address
Callinstraße 20
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
202
Profilfoto Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange Profilfoto Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange
Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange
Director
Address
Callinstraße 20
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
202

Project Manager

Profilfoto Jessica Burmester Profilfoto Jessica Burmester
Jessica Burmester-Kock, M.A.
Research Staff
Address
Callinstraße 20
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
204
Profilfoto Jessica Burmester Profilfoto Jessica Burmester
Jessica Burmester-Kock, M.A.
Research Staff
Address
Callinstraße 20
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
204

Project

National Socialist Germany committed the most serious human rights violations with its dictatorship, war of annihilation, occupation and "racial policy". These included the genocide of European Jews and Sinti and Roma. Opposing these crimes, focusing on human rights and the restoration of justice guided the actions of people in the resistance. Although dealing with the resistance in Europe can make a significant contribution to democracy and human rights education, there are hardly any corresponding teaching/learning materials available to date. This applies in particular to digital offerings. However, digital access not only offers the possibility of a transnational exchange, for example for transnational youth encounters, but also creates new opportunities for engaging with the historical subject matter from a comparative perspective and dealing with its significance for the present.

Objectives and Project Results

As part of the project, biographical materials and an educational guide for the implementation of learning programmes in binational youth exchanges and educational settings at schools, memorials and other learning contexts are being developed in a transnational cooperation between different institutions of historico-political education. Furthermore, a digital exhibition will be designed that offers an interactive and multidimensional approach to the people of the resistance through different levels of mediation. Once completed, the digital exhibition should be expandable in terms of its content, e.g. also in cooperation with youth projects, so that it can in principle also be transferred to other contexts, for example with regard to resistance biographies from other European countries.

Results

RESIST Handbook

The RESIST Handbook offers a wide range of educational materials in French and German on resistance against National Socialism in France and Germany between 1933 and 1945.

 

The educational materials are targeted at students between 12 and 18 years old and are available in plain German or French.

The handbook consists of:

  • biographies of French and German members of the resistance
  • didactic and methodological guidelines and elaborations
  • exemplary course plans
  • additional source materials to work with the biographies

News & Events

RESIST Online Closing Event

Programme:

16:00: Start & welcome by the project team

16:15: Keynote: The resistance against National Socialism in Germany, Prof. Dr Johannes Tuchel (Director of the German Resistance Memorial Centre, Berlin)
16:30: Keynote: The resistance against National Socialism in France, Séverine Koprivnik (Mémorial National de la prison de Montluc, Lyon)

16:45: Presentation of the main project results
Moderation: Julia Albert (German Resistance Memorial Centre, Berlin); Héloïse Levecque (Mémorial National de la prison de Montluc, Lyon)

17:10: Exchange in workshops

Workshop A: Working with biographies of people who resisted National Socialism in Germany and France - potential for historico-political learning in intercultural contexts
Moderation: Jessica Burmester-Kock and Lukas Fender (Institute for Didactics of Democracy, Hanover); Isabelle Doré-Rivé and Marie-Liesse Zambeaux (Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, Lyon)

Workshop B: Resistance in a dictatorship - what can we learn from the past? Moderation: Gabriella Girel (Cité Scolaire Internationale, Lyon) and Prof Dr Frieder Meyer-Krahmer (Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation, Leipzig)

17:40: Joint final discussion
18:00: End of the event

Register free of charge to join our online closing event on April 12, 2024, 4.00 p.m.

Past Project Events

About Us

Project Consortium

  • Institute for Didactics of Democracy, Leibniz University Hannover

    As a research institute, we focus on civic education on a national and international scale. Dealing with anti-democratic tendencies and the development of tools to challenge them is one of our core competences. Within the RESIST- project, we will contribute decisively to the development of the didactic handbook and take the role of the project coordinator.

    Contact Person: Jessica Burmester-Kock

  • Stiftung Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Berlin

    The German Resistance Memorial Centre in Berlin is the central place of remembrance of the resistance against National Socialism in Germany. Its task is to show in exhibitions, publications and events how a small minority of people in Germany resisted the National Socialist dictatorship between 1933 and 1945. Individuals and groups used their possibilities to resist, while the majority supported the Nazi regime or adapted to it. The educational programmes at the memorial are aimed at young people and adults.

    Website: https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/home/

  • Mémorial National de la prison de Montluc, Lyon

    The Montluc prison memorial in Lyon commemorates repression and persecution during the Second World War. From February 1943, over 9,000 people were imprisoned here by the German occupying forces under inhumane conditions. Among them were many resistance fighters, such as Jean Moulin, and many Jews. Most of the prisoners were deported from here to concentration and extermination camps. Since 2010, the site has been a state memorial under the direction of ONACVG.

    Website: https://www.memorial-montluc.fr/

  • Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, Lyon

    The Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation is housed in the former military health school and is an emblematic place in the service of history and remembrance in Lyon. The cellars of the building, where the victims of the Gestapo were held and which now house the temporary exhibitions, form the centrepiece of the museum. The centre places young visitors at the heart of its programming policy and thus contributes to the education of future citizens who are free, responsible and aware of a shared memory.

    Website: https://www.chrd.lyon.fr/

  • Carl und Anneliese Goerdeler-Stiftung

    The name of the Goerdeler Foundation refers in particular to Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, one of the leading civilian figures in the resistance against National Socialism on 20 July 1944. Since 2016, the foundation has been initiating and supporting international student meetings that deal with the resistance against National Socialism or other dictatorships.

    Website: http://www.goerdeler-stiftung.de/

Associated Partner

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Project Number: 101051075