The Bethe Foundation has doubled the federal education ministry’s (BMBFSFJ) funding for the “Youth Remembers” program. The ministry announced on Tuesday that the foundation’s contribution has increased the annual support from the federal Children and Youth Plan from €1.75 million to roughly €3.5 million for youth groups’ visits to memorial sites.
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) highlighted that keeping the memory of Nazi crimes alive is vital, especially as Holocaust witnesses become increasingly rare. She noted how exchanges with the young participants of the “Youth Remembers” trips have shown the value of letting students experience authentic sites of Nazi atrocities and thereby cultivate a sense of responsibility for democracy. “It sends a strong signal that, together with the Bethe Foundation, we can double the resources for memorial visits and give even more young people this experience” Prien said.
Erich and Roswitha Bethe explained that supporting and organizing memorial site trips for youth has been the foundation’s main focus since 2010. They have already arranged visits to the extermination camps of Auschwitz, Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Majdanek for over 40,000 students from 12 German states. “We hope to contribute to ensuring that such crimes never recur” the founders said.