Excursion to France in the summer semester 2023

As part of the seminar "The First World War as a German-French Place of Remembrance", 22 students from Romance Studies and History, led by Jörg Requate and Julia Spohr, went on an excursion to eastern France from June 19 to 23. The focus of the excursion was the question of the memory of the First World War. From Verdun to Reims and Metz, we visited various places and memorials of the First World War. We spent the first three days in Verdun, the symbol of the horror of the First World War. There we visited the recently extensively redesigned Mémorial, a museum, as well as some of the surrounding battlefields and bunkers at Douaumont and Vaux. The view from the ossuary to the military cemetery in front of it was impressive. A completely different picture emerged when we slipped into the skin of a soldier in the First World War with the help of an augmented reality tourand experienced the citadel of Verdun. Even here, it became clear that remembrance can happen in many different ways and take many different forms. On the way to Reims, we made a stopover in Suippes. We quickly agreed that we found the museum's specific approach - the strong focus on the civilian population - extremely important. Other highlights included a visit to the Dragon's Cave near Reims on the fourth day of the excursion and a guided tour of Metz on the last day. During this city tour, we were able to see in concrete terms how memory can change and develop over time.

(Report written by: Marlen Wernecke)