Study Trip for Teachers to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial 2025

In October 2025, the National Fund will once again offer a study trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial for teachers with the OeAD-Programm ERINNERN:AT and in cooperation with the Vienna University of Teacher Education.

During the four-day study trip, teachers will get to know the memorial and the new Austrian national exhibition and learn about the challenges of visiting with pupils as well as concepts and become acquainted with learning materials for the preparation and follow-up of a visit to a memorial and exhibition.

In October 2021, the new Austrian national exhibition opened in Block 17 at the former Auschwitz main camp.
Rupert Steiner

In focus: The Austrian national exhibition and educational mediation

In autumn 2021, the new Austrian national exhibition was opened at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. It shows the history of Austria under the Nazi regime, the fate of the Austrian victims in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex and the involvement of Austrians as perpetrators of and accessories to the crimes committed there.

For the preparation and follow-up to the visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and the new Austrian national exhibition, erinnern.at was commissioned by the Ministry of Education to develop a set of teaching materials, that offer topic-specific links to the exhibition and embed the excursion to the memorial in the classroom. The materials were created in close collaboration with the curators of the exhibition and in cooperation with the National Fund, which organised the renewal of the national exhibition at Auschwitz and is responsible for its upkeep.

Programme

After a guided tour of the Jewish quarter of Oświęcim on the day of arrival, on the second day the teachers will visit the former main camp at Auschwitz. Here they will also participate in workshops organised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. On the third day, the Austrian national exhibition in Block 17 of the main camp will take centre stage. Later in the day, the group will visit the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. On the fourth day, the study trip concludes with a last joint session.

Two additional online seminars to help teachers prepare for and follow up on the study trip form the framework of the educational programme.

The study trip will be accompanied by Axel Schacht (OeAD, ERINNERN:AT) and Wolfgang Gasser (National Fund). Michael Doujak, who was part of the team for the renewal of the Austrian national exhibition, will also be there.

Goals

  • Familiarisation with the memorial site and the Austrian exhibition as well as reflection on the educational offerings there
  • Testing the learning materials jointly developed by ERINNERN:AT and the National Fund for the preparation and follow-up of the memorial site visit
  • Empowering teachers to offer excursions to concentration camp memorial sites with their schools and to prepare and follow them up in a targeted manner
  • Getting to grips with Holocaust education and memorial site education

Advanced training at the Vienna University of Teacher Education

This study trip is part of the continuing education programme of the Vienna University of Teacher Education. After being accepted, participants are registered via PH-Online. Particiapnts must provide the official written permission of their school director once they have been accepted onto the study trip (at the beginning of August). However, please clarify with your director whether they will consent to your participation and issue you the necessary permission before applying. Upon completion of the programme, the Vienna University of Teacher Education will issue a certificate of attendance .

Target group

Teachers at upper secondary level (all types of schools) who are planning a study trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site with their school classes.

Dates

  • Preparation: Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 4-7 p.m., online
  • Study trip: Thursday, 2 to Sunday, 5 October 2025
  • Follow-up: Tuesday, 4 November 2025, 4-7 p.m., online

Costs

The costs for the study trip are covered by the OeAD programme ERINNERN:AT and the National Fund. Accommodation is provided in double rooms. Participants can opt for a single room (if available) on an individual basis and pay the supplement. Only some of the meals are included on site.

Application period

1 March to 15 May 2025 via the online application form.

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