Ewa Szczepańska and Krystyna Rybińska-Smyk were invited to a three-day specialist seminar “The victims of National Socialism in Poland – their life today” organised by the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (Stiftung EVZ) in Berlin. The invitation was issued in connection with an on-going four-year-old project carried out by the Volunteer Centre in Zamość (VCZ) and whose main focus is the welfare of the victims of the Third Reich.

The seminar’s participants included the representatives of organisations aiding the victims of Nazism from Poland, Germany and Czech Republic as well as the representatives of academia, administration and politics.

Main topics discussed during the seminar:

• “The presence of the past in the life of the victims of Nazism and their assistants”
• “Different life situations for the victims of Nazism in Poland and Europe today”
• “Methods of assistance and the need to act for the welfare of the victims of Nazism”

The closing discussion involved a presentation of good practices and ideas for the projects financed by EVZ. Ewa Szczepańska and Krystyna Rybińska-Smyk talked about the successes of the Volunteer Centre in Zamość and their good experience gained from the organisation of the project. The coordinators also talked to Anja Krautler, who monitors the VCZ project, and Dariusz Pawłoś from the Foundation “Polish-German Reconciliation.”