KONTAKTE-KOHTAKTbI e. V.

22/10/2026

"WAR MEIN OPA EIN NAZI?“
Wie Nachfahren ihre NS-Familiengeschichte erforschen

📢Herzliche Einladung zum Jour fixe
🗓 30.Oktober 2026 um 19:00 Uhr,
📍 Feurigstraße 68, 10827 Berlin-Schöneberg
(S1 Julius-Leber-Brücke)

Seit die NSDAP-Mitgliederdatei online frei durchsuchbar ist, recherchieren immer mehr Deutsche, welche Rollen ihre Familienangehörigen, Bekannten, Kollegen oder Vereins-mitglieder während der NS-Zeit innehatten.

Berliner Historiker und Vorstandsmitglied von KONTAKTE-KOHTAKTbI e.V. Dr. Johannes Spohr beschäftigt sich seit vielen Jahren mit dem Thema NS-Täterschaften in der Familie und betreibt seit 2020 den Archivrecherchedienst »Present Past« zum Nationalsozialismus in Verwandtschaft und Gesellschaft.

Zusammen mit dem Historiker und Publizisten Friedrich Burschel, der mit einem eigenen Beitrag vertreten ist, stellt Dr. Spohr sein neues Buch, erschienen bei Metropol Verlag, vor: 10 Geschichten, 10 Wege, in denen die Nachfahren berichten, wie sie zum Nationalsozialismus in der eigenen Familie recherchiert haben, was sie herausgefunden haben und wie sie mit den Erkenntnissen umgehen. Ein Ermutigungsbuch für alle, die sich auf die Suche begeben wollen.

Grußwort und Moderation – Ragna Vogel, Geschäftsführung von KONTAKTE-KOHTAKTbI e.V.

Im Anschluss laden wir Sie traditionell zu Gespräch und Austausch untereinander und mit unseren Referenten bei einem Empfang ein.

Spenden für humanitäre Projekte des Vereins zugunsten der NS-Opfer sind willkommen: https://kontakte-kontakty.de/buergerengagement-fuer-ns-opfer/

Anmeldung erwünscht unter [email protected] oder Telefon: +49 30 78 70 52 88

10/10/2026

Попри всі випробування, Євдокія Миколаївна зберегла людяність і віру в добро.

Вона народилася 1942 року в Єрківцях. Чимало пережила сама, ще більше про минуле родини знала зі слів батьків і баби. Її спогади — про голод, війну, окупацію, примусову працю, страх і втрати.
У цій історії страшно не лише те, що довелося пережити людям тоді. Страшно бачити, як знайомі слова знову стають частиною нашої реальності: війна, окупація, насильство, знищення, страх за життя.

Саме тому ми збираємо такі свідчення. Щоб зберегти пам’ять про пережите. Щоб повертати голоси тих, чиї історії надто довго залишалися непочутими. Щоб відновлювати історичну справедливість і бачити жорстокі історичні паралелі, які не можна ігнорувати.
Далі — спогади Євдокії Миколаївни.

Проєкт підтримується Фундацією «Пам’ять, Відповідальність та Майбутнє» EVZ Foundation та фінансується Міністерством закордонних справ Німеччини Auswärtiges Amt , за додаткової підтримки Міжнародного альянсу з вшанування пам’яті ГолокостуInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance - IHRA, Архіву усних свідчень Голокосту Фортунов (Єльський університет) Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies програми Documenting Ukraine.

23/09/2026

Hinter die Kulissen des deutschen Parlaments schauen, die Arbeit des Europaausschusses kennenlernen und unvergleichliche Aussichten über Berlin von der Reichstagskuppel genießen – all dies und vieles mehr war während der deutsch-moldauischen Begegnungswoche im Rahmen des vom Auswärtigen Amt geförderten Projekts „Connecting Memories – Conflicts of History in the 20th Century in Germany and the Republic of Moldova“ möglich.

Herzlichen Dank an Herrn Johannes Schraps, MdB, Vorsitzenden von Deutsch-Moldauisches Forum e.V., und sein Team für die erkenntnisreiche Führung und die wertvollen Einblicke in das politische Geschehen auf Bundesebene!

RO
O privire în culisele Parlamentului german, cunoașterea activității Comisiei pentru afaceri europene și admirarea unor priveliști incomparabile asupra Berlinului de pe cupola Reichstagului – toate acestea și multe altele au fost posibile în cadrul săptămânii de întâlniri germano-moldovene, organizată în cadrul proiectului „Connecting Memories – Conflicts of History in the 20th Century in Germany and the Republic of Moldova”, finanțat de Ministerul Afacerilor Externe al Republicii Federale Germania.

Mulțumim mult domnului Johannes Schraps, membru al Parlamentului Federal German, președinte al Asociației „Deutsch-Moldauisches Forum e.V.”, și echipei sale pentru turul ghidat plin de informații utile și pentru perspectivele valoroase asupra evenimentelor politice de la nivel federal!

Am vergangenen Donnerstag hat mein Abgeordnetenbüro stellvertretend für mich im Rahmen meines Vorsitzes des Deutsch-Moldauischen Forums e.V. eine Gruppe von Künstlerinnen und Künstlern, Journalistinnen und Journalisten, Historikerinnen und Historikern sowie Vertreterinnen und Vertretern der Zivilgesellschaft aus Deutschland und der Republik Moldau im Paul-Löbe-Haus begrüßt.

Während der Führung durch das Paul-Löbe-Haus und das Reichstagsgebäude mit anschließendem Besuch der Kuppel blieb viel Zeit für einen offenen Austausch über aktuelle politische Themen.

Gesprochen wurde unter anderem über meine Arbeit im Europaausschuss des Deutschen Bundestages, Moldaus Weg in die Europäische Union und die Unterstützung Deutschlands auf diesem Weg.

Für mich ist klar: Die Republik Moldau und ihre Menschen gehören zur europäischen Familie. Deutschland wird Moldau auf seinem europäischen Weg weiterhin eng begleiten.

Mein Team hat sich sehr über das große Interesse, die vielen Fragen und die spannenden Gespräche gefreut. Herzlichen Dank an alle Teilnehmenden und an KONTAKTE-KOHTAKTbI für den Besuch und die Organisation!

20/09/2026

Connecting Memories 2026
Confilicts of History in the 20th Century in Germany and the Republic of Moldova

Impressions of the week.

This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office Auswärtiges Amt.
Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Pictures by Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions

19/09/2026

THANK YOU!
It was so beautiful to spend the last evening of this week with our friends and colleagues.

Thank you everyone involved in the making of this project, for our experts from Germany and the Republic of Moldova who came along and engaged in discussions, debates and reflections.
Thank you to our public who took their time to attend our open event.

Thank you Dr. Irina Șihova and Dr. Ion Duminica for your insightful and honest presentations.
We are very much looking forward to cultural exchange week in Moldova in April 2027.

CONNECTING MEMORIES
Confilicts of History in the 20th Century in Germany and the Republic of Moldova

This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office Auswärtiges Amt. Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Video: Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions
Soundscape: massobeats - serenity

18/09/2026

DAY 5
Our fifth and final day of we spent at Sachsenhausen Memorial , a concentration camp during the N**i regime, and a Soviet special camp after the war. In many ways, this camp was the place where all extermination tools, methods and experiments were first tested before rolled out to all the other concentration camps.

Merle Weißbach gave us a very insightful tour of the camp, and, as during our visit at , it was really appreciated to have been confronted with both chapters of this camp, both the N**i, as well as the Soviet one. This of course was then followed up by group discussions. Thank you Merle for putting all this together!

The day ended in a more cheerful note, but more to the evening tomorrow!

This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office Auswärtiges Amt. Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Video: Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions
Soundscape: Johny Grimes - Whisper of Hope

18/09/2026

Day 4
On Thursday the group had the privilege to hear first hand from German Bessarabians what it meant for them as children and their parents to be displaced from the places they called home. One of our own participants joined the panel too, as his personal links to this minority resulted directly in him opening a museum dedicated to the German Bessarabian minority in Ecaterinovca.

The morning and early afternoon were spent at the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion and Reconciliation Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung.

Two guided tours, one on their permanent exhibition and the other on their temporary one "OSTGEBIETE / ZIEMIE ZACHODNIE. Eine deutsch-polnische Spurensuche", offered a very insightful and inspirational look at how the very heavy subject matters such as displacement and forced uprooting of entire communities can also be processed through creative and educational means.

A lot of food for thought for our participants and incentives to look at how their communities could benefit of such approaches.



This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office. Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Video: Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions
Soundscape: massobeats - serenity

17/09/2026

DAY 3
Midweek - probably the gloomiest of them all, saw our group visit more Soviet-heavy places

In the morning we went to the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst , better know as the Site of Surrender. The site where the Allied Powers, the U.S., the U.K., France and the Soviet Union presented N**i Germany on the 8th-9th May 1945 the document which underlined their immediate surrender and capitulation. Once signed, the Ex-N**i commanders were taken away (later to be tried) whilst the rest of the winning Allied Powers popped open the champagnes and celebrated the victory til dawn.

An interesting and rather unique fact about this museum is that its Board of Members consists of multinational trustees, which places the museum in a significant position of mediating the history of those early capitulation days from several geopolitical perspectives. Tours were offered both in English and Russian language and gave ample room for debates and discussions amongst our experts in the subsequent reflective roundtable.

The afternoon saw us visit the largest memorial site for fallen Soviet soldiers and civilians, The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park.
Of all the countries currently housing Soviet War Memorials, this one is the only one (apparently) which contains direct quotes from Stalin. Our Moldovan participants have pointed out on a number of occasions that one would not find anywhere else in the ex-soviet countries direct quotes from Stalin on similar memorials. This places Berlin’s memorial in a very unique position, where the perception of the perpetrators and non-perpetrators is - plainly said - quite muddle up.

Despite the rain and gloominess, the sun did come out at the end of the this tour. 😊🌞



This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office Auswärtiges Amt
Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Pictures: Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions

16/09/2026

DAY 2:
Our second day was probably the longest of our week

Our group of experts visited the House of the Wannsee Conference / Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz

During this tour we had a more insightful look into the perspective of the perpetrators and the almost clinical language used to distance oneself from feeling anything when it comes to the annihilation of any ethnic group.
‘Conference” is to be understood loosely, as it was only a quick chat amongst not very high ranking NS leaders about the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” followed by a breakfast.
The banality of the action puts things into perspective.

We then went on to Potsdam at the Lindenstraße Memorial | Stiftung Gedenkstätte Lindenstraße Stiftung Gedenkstätte Lindenstraße, a less known Memorial on the extensive map of memorial dotted around Berlin, offered us a gruelling insight of a prison used by both the N**i and Soviet regime. The former used it as an ’institute’ for forced sterilisation of the citizens deemed ‘not useful’ for the Reich. AGAIN, ‘not useful’ has been a loosely applied by the perpetrators in order to advance the internal affairs of the Reich. Many of the faith’s of the victims are til this day unknown.
During the GDR time, it’s been used as a political prison, where enemies of the newly established soviet-influenced state were imprisoned, tortured and, in many cases, never heard of again.



This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office. Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions

Video: Bea benedek of BENEDEK Productions
Soundscape: Mindwave by Avanti

15/09/2026

DAY 1:
Yesterday's very full and insightful tours at the Memorials to the Murdered Jews in Europe, Sinti and Roma, and Homosexuals under the NS Regime.

Our thanks to Merle Weißbach and Dr. Irina Şihova from Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova for preparing and leading these tours and reflective talks around these memorials (managed by StiftungDenkmal - FoundationMemorial)

This project wouldn't have been possible without the kind support of the Federal Foreign Office. Thank you also to our partners Association of Geography and Ethnology of Moldova "EGEA-Moldova", Muzeul de Istorie a Evreilor din Republica Moldova / Jewish Museum Moldova, Civil Society Cooperation, and our media support kindly delivered by BENEDEK Productions



Video: Bea Benedek of BENEDEK Productions
Soundscape: Aylex - Little Step