Brothers Grimm School: Enlightenment through the eyes of a Hitler wife

Brothers Grimm School: Enlightenment through the eyes of a Hitler wife

On June 15, 2025, a project week began at the Brothers Grimm School in Witzenhausen under the motto “Strengthening Democracy – Living Values”. The week began with a reading from Ursula Vaupel's book entitled “I, too, was a Hitler girl”. The reading was given by Milena Vaupel-Kenter and Thekla Rotermund-Capar for students in grades 8 to 10. The topics of the reading included Hitler's rise to power, the Vaupel family's dealings with Nazis and Jews, and Ursula Vaupel's intensive examination of the events of the Third Reich.

Ursula Vaupel, born in 1928, grew up in a family that was affected by economic crises and fell victim to National Socialist ideologies. Although she tried to make a career in the Association of German Girls (BDM), she was excluded because of a missing forearm. Her close relationship with the neighboring Jews led to a painful realization when she later learned that they were deported and murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. After the Second World War, Vaupel began to critically engage with National Socialism, which culminated in the publication of her youth memories in 2016. Students can learn from her as a historical figure who also had contact with Paul Kester, a Jewish neighbor boy who survived the Holocaust.

Commitment to education

Ursula Vaupel was not only committed to coming to terms with her own history, but also focused on researching the early Eschweg witch trials. She was also active in refugee work. Her daughter has made it her mission to continue the readings about her mother's story in order to keep the cause of enlightenment alive. The project week at the Brothers Grimm School offers students the opportunity to deal with this important topic and learn from the past.

On Friday, June 19, 2025, there will be a school festival starting at 2:30 p.m. as part of the project week. Music and theater performances, a football tournament and a poetry slam are planned. There's also a lot on offer in terms of cuisine, from burgers and bratwursts to non-alcoholic cocktails to crepes and popcorn.

Holocaust commemoration in Krefeld

Also in the focus of commemoration is the Horkesgath high school in Krefeld, which organized a project week on the subject of the Holocaust from January 20th to 24th, 2025. Around 700 students took part to deal with anti-Semitism, racism and exclusion. Teachers Mehmet Akyazi and Daniela Rasel were instrumental in organizing the events preparing for Remembrance Day on January 27th. There was particularly positive feedback from parents whose children came home emotionally touched by the projects.

As part of the activities, workshops on the topics of racial theory and National Socialist sports propaganda were offered, among other things. Students cleaned stumbling blocks in Krefeld and dealt with the biographies of the people remembered there. Through cooperation with the Nazi documentation center Villa Merländer and the Kresch Theater, the commitment to educational work at the school was further strengthened.

Overall, both project weeks represent a powerful message against forgetting and promote engagement with one of the darkest periods of German history. Whether at the Brothers Grimm School or at the Horkesgath High School, the commitment to democracy and against discrimination is the focus of the initiatives that are intended to raise the awareness of the young generation.