“ETERNAL PRISONERS?!”
Compensation for NS Judicial Convicts
The judicial convicts imprisoned and executed during National Socialism are a persecuted group often neglected in the culture of remembrance. Their stories are the focus of the project “Eternal Prisoners?!”. Over a period of two years, the project team researched compensation, conducted interviews, and developed educational offerings using the former Wolfenbüttel Prison as a case study.
“Eternal Prisoners?!” Compensation for Judicial Convicts and the Individual and Societal Impacts is a project of the Wolfenbüttel Prison Memorial in cooperation with the Institute for Braunschweig Regional History (IBRG) of the TU Braunschweig and the Belgian Hogeschool VIVES Kortrijk. The project was funded by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future (EVZ) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) as part of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice.
„EWIGE ZUCHTHÄUSLER?!“
Entschädigung für NS-Justizverurteilte
Die im Nationalsozialismus inhaftierten und hingerichteten Justizverurteilten sind eine in der Erinnerungskultur oft vernachlässigte Verfolgtengruppe. Ihre Geschichten stehen im Fokus des Projektes „Ewige Zuchthäusler?!“. Über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren hat das Projektteam im Pilotprojekt am Beispiel des ehemaligen Strafgefängnisses Wolfenbüttel zum Thema Entschädigung geforscht, Interviews geführt und Vermittlungsangebote entwickelt.
„Ewige Zuchthäusler?!“ Entschädigung für Justizverurteilte und die individuellen sowie gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen ist ein Projekt der Gedenkstätte in der JVA Wolfenbüttel in Kooperation mit dem Institut für Braunschweigische Regionalgeschichte (IBRG) der TU Braunschweig und der belgischen Hogeschool VIVES Kortrijk. Das Projekt wurde in der Bildungsagenda NS-Unrecht von der Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft (EVZ) und dem Bundesministerium der Finanzen (BMF) gefördert.
3 Countries
The treatment of NS judicial convicts and their families after 1945 varied in Western European countries. Some were honoured as resistance fighters and quickly received financial support for the injustices they had suffered. Others fought for decades in vain for recognition and compensation.
The website provides information on country-specific regulations for compensation payments and the societal treatment of NS judicial convicts in Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands. During the war, about 2,000 people from these three countries were imprisoned in the Wolfenbüttel Prison for various forms of resistance against the German occupation. Bringing together the perspectives of these countries allows for a comparison of differences in compensation practises.
17 Biographies
How were the lives of judicial convicts and their families shaped by Nazi persecution? And what role did compensation payments play for the affected individuals after 1945?
The selected biographies and their individual experiences are as diverse as the reasons for persecution and countries of origin. The stories of the affected individuals and their families show that the issue of compensation continues to have an impact to this day.
New Educational Offerings
How can the history of compensation for Nazi injustice be conveyed and used for critical engagement in the present?
The Wolfenbüttel Prison Memorial has developed new workshops and educational materials on the topic of “Compensation for NS Judicial Convicts”. The educational offerings are designed for various requirements and age groups, particularly targeting students and professionals in the fields of justice and corrections.
The educational materials are available for free download. They can be used independently of location and applied in other educational institutions as well as by providers of extracurricular education.
