Very impressive and it definitely stays with me throughout my life. It is something I carry with me a little bit every day.
Commissioned by the Sobibor Foundation, Motivaction International B.V. conducted a perception survey among participants of the International Youth Conference on Sobibor in Poland. The overall organization of the youth conference is in the hands of the Organization for Polish-German Reconciliation, and from the Netherlands, the province of Gelderland and the Sobibor Foundation are involved. Since 2013, about 150 young people have participated in this conference.
On October 6, 2023, the Sobibor Foundation presented the results to former participants in the House of the Province of Gelderland.
On October 6, 2023, the Sobibor Foundation presented the results to former participants in the House of the Province of Gelderland.
The first youth conference took place prior to the Sobibor Commemoration in 2013, when we commemorated that the Sobibor uprising had taken place 70 years earlier. Now, 10 years later, the Sobibor Foundation is curious to what extent this trip has made a (lasting) impact on the lives of participants and their behavior and opinions regarding discrimination and exclusion.Below are the main conclusions.
Experiences of the trip
Participants are very positive about their participation in the International Youth Conference on Sobibor, and are grateful for the experience they gained through their participation. Almost everyone would recommend the trip to other students/schools. It makes a great impression to see the sites with your own eyes, combined with the fierce stories involved. The trip is a profound experience, the preparation of the trip from the Sobibor Foundation and the aftercare were for a majority of the participants (very) important for how they experienced the trip.
Participants are very positive about their participation in the International Youth Conference on Sobibor, and are grateful for the experience they gained through their participation. Almost everyone would recommend the trip to other students/schools. It makes a great impression to see the sites with your own eyes, combined with the fierce stories involved. The trip is a profound experience, the preparation of the trip from the Sobibor Foundation and the aftercare were for a majority of the participants (very) important for how they experienced the trip.
Things remembered
The trip to Poland provided participants with (very) much knowledge about the Holocaust, Sobibor and Majdanek. For most, the visit to Sobibor and Majdanek had more influence on their perception of the Holocaust than the education at school. Almost all participants found it (somewhat) instructive, important and enlightening to discuss the Holocaust and exclusion with young people from other countries. A quarter of the participants called the conversations with other participants on the trip impressive.
The trip to Poland provided participants with (very) much knowledge about the Holocaust, Sobibor and Majdanek. For most, the visit to Sobibor and Majdanek had more influence on their perception of the Holocaust than the education at school. Almost all participants found it (somewhat) instructive, important and enlightening to discuss the Holocaust and exclusion with young people from other countries. A quarter of the participants called the conversations with other participants on the trip impressive.
Impact of travel on daily life
More than half of the participants are (very) concerned about the exclusion of (groups of) people in today’s society.
These are mainly concerns about exclusion based on ethnicity, but also exclusion based on sexual orientation, socioeconomic background and gender.
More than half of the participants are (very) concerned about the exclusion of (groups of) people in today’s society.
These are mainly concerns about exclusion based on ethnicity, but also exclusion based on sexual orientation, socioeconomic background and gender.
Impact trip on view on themes such as exclusion
About four in ten participants indicated that the trip to Sobibor and Majdanek had (very) much influence on how they now think about exclusion of (groups of) people. The trip also had some impact on participants’ behavior when they see exclusion happening in their environment.
The afternoon ended with a short version of the performance “A Clash with the Past” by ‘The Flaming Duck’. An adaptation of the book ‘The man who didn’t hate Jews’ by author Chaja Polak. The performance was followed by a Q&A with Chaja Polak and the two actresses>
“I went on the trip as a girl and came back as a woman.”
