Throughout those European states and countries that suffered occupation at the hands of Nazi Germany there are still both survivors and victims' families in thousands of places with living memories of the crimes of War and Occupation and of the Resistance movements. What happened then was for the most part both murderous and bloody; it came to a close with the defeat of the invaders and the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition and Resistance movements; there are documentations in numerous museums and Historical Institutions which constitute collective remembrance for all those states. Countless memorial sites, memorial plaques and monuments signify honour awarded to victims. Visitors from Germany – barring a few exceptions – are few and far between at the memorial sites. They are even frequently unaware of their existence. Specific information and explanations in German are in fact difficult to come by. They do exist in scientific or "Memorial Literature" but usually without easy accesss or scattered on internet sites referring to individual sites and topics.
The aim of the website www.gedenkorte-europa.eu is to encourage visits to these memorial sites, offer route maps and initial information. Where more detailed information is required, specific bibliographic and media resources are listed for each country to show historical evidence, textual and media sources.
Currently memorial sites in France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, and Poland have been covered, organised into regions or voivodeships. Exemplary brief bíographies and thematic headwords provide regional and local information. There is no claim for total cover of all aspects – as obvious in view of the huge number of sites. Textual, media resources and internet aim at aiding in researching sites that are as yet not documented. Tips, suggestions, information and criticism from visitors are welcome at our "Kontakt" link.
The project "Memorial Sites in Europe" („Gedenkorte Europa“) was financed by sponsorship of the Otto-Brenner-Stiftung, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and private sponsors.
Members of the editorial team are: Thomas Altmeyer, M.A. (coordination), Dr. Florence Hervé (Brittany / France), Christoph Jetter / Hanni Skroblies (Italy and Lithuania), Hermann Unterhinninghofen (France and Poland). The editorial work on Greece has been completed after Sabine Bade left (2018).
Cooperation: Lennart Bartelheimer, Pascal Kasperczyk, Elke Francesca Skroblies, Michaela Wilhelm
Frankfurt/M., February 2022