Voluntary social year

A wide range of volunteering opportunities

The memorial centre offers volunteers a wide range of work opportunities. In addition to the permanent exhibition in the Documentation Centre, which opened in 2007, and the historical camp grounds with the cemetery and foundations of former buildings, there is also an archive, a library, a research department and an education centre, which looks after around 1,000 groups every year and organises many educational events.

Volunteers familiarise themselves with all departments of the memorial and the foundations headquarters in Celle as part of their induction. Staff from the Education and Encounters department are responsible for providing ongoing support.

Interesting tasks

Volunteers take on a variety of tasks at Bergen-Belsen: They give guided tours for registered groups and are involved in the development and production of educational materials and international youth encounters. They help with the organisation and implementation of various events, including the annual commemoration ceremony, look after survivors and support colleagues in the areas of research and documentation, communication, information and the bookshop.

Volunteers are also expressly encouraged to set their own work priorities and contribute according to their interests and skills. This also includes the planned independent project to be carried out as part of the voluntary year. The volunteers choose and organise it largely independently, but are accompanied and supported by experienced colleagues in the selection, conception and implementation.

Voices

What former volunteers say:

"I learnt a lot more, both in terms of facts and about the world, as well as about myself, than I could ever have done in a year at school."

"During my FSJ, I had many wonderful and, above all, new experiences. The most important thing for me was being able to get to know contemporary witnesses."

"I had the opportunity to surpass myself several times, mainly because I was given a lot of trust by the memorial centre, which means a lot to me."

"I somehow started this FSJ as a completely different person to the one who is now finishing the year."

Wide range of volunteering opportunities

The Wolfenbüttel Correctional Facility (JVA) Prison Memorial offers volunteers a wide range of opportunities. It is the central institution for the topic of "Justice and the penal system under National Socialism" for the entire Federal Republic of Germany, and its buildings and premises are located on the grounds of a working Correctional Facility (JVA). In addition to the permanent exhibition in the Documentation Centre, which opened in 2019, and the historical sites located in the Correctional Facility (execution site, prison cells), there are other places of remembrance in the surrounding area (former Buchhorst shooting range execution site, cemetery with execution victims in the main cemetery).

Interesting tasks

During their FSJ, volunteers familiarise themselves with all areas of work at the memorial and take on a variety of tasks: They accompany the educational work as part of workshops and guided tours, help with the organisation and implementation of various events, including the annual commemoration ceremony, support colleagues in project work, take part in regular service meetings and help with visitor reception at the information desk.

Volunteers are also expressly encouraged to set their own work priorities and contribute according to their interests and skills. This also includes the planned project to be carried out independently as part of the volunteer year. The volunteers choose and organise it largely independently, but are accompanied and supported by experienced colleagues in the selection, conception and implementation.

Voices

What former volunteers say:

"I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues at the memorial centre for treating me as a permanent, equal member of the team right from the start, for trusting me to carry out diverse and varied tasks independently, and especially for valuing my commitment and my work. From the beginning of my voluntary service, the staff always made me feel that I could turn to them with any questions, concerns or problems.
To summarise: Thank you very much for this great year! If I had the chance to do another FSJ with you, the answer would be a resounding YES without having to think about it!"

"During my FSJ, I was able to meet lots of new people and get a taste of the different areas of memorial work. There was always something to do thanks to varied and challenging tasks, which were instructive for my future. Thanks to active support, realising my project as part of the FSJ policy was no problem. Thanks to the year at the memorial centre, I now know what I would like to study later."

"I was very surprised and pleased to realise that I was an important part of the team right from the start and that this was also reflected in my tasks. My expectations were very quickly exceeded by this work and the trust placed in me by all my colleagues. Thanks to the constant help of the entire team and the great teamwork, even the challenging tasks were never a problem for me. My FSJ has only confirmed my plan to study history in the future and to familiarise myself more deeply with specific topics."

Our FSJ volunteer Anna Lena Heine spoke to Vocatium Magazine in more detail about her voluntary social year. You can read the interview here.