Research-based learning at Memorials and Museums

Summary

The project aims to foster collaboration of the participating universities and memorial sites as well as history museums with regard to research-based learning.
The cooperation will result in the development of a toolbox for campus-community-cooperation in the field of memory studies. To this end, potential areas of research that are available at the memorial sites and museums will be identified and prepared for later exploration by future students in such a way as to facilitate the interlinking of academic reflection and civic engagement.

There are two essential parts on the agenda:

Visits at the different museums / memorials

Workshops with all partners

The visits will serve to find a common ground despite the diverse nature of the memorials and museums. Differences and commonalities will be identified and discussed. Also, students of the respective universities shall be invited and actively take part in the discussion of potential research-based projects.
The project partner (university staff and cooperation partners from the memorials) will hold four meetings over the course of the year.

The project will be supported by a professional moderator to prevent intercultural misunderstandings and a student assistant to support the editing of the toolbox.

Project Team

Dr. Ulrike Bieker (UMR)
Prof. Dr. Christian Heuer (JLU)
Sebastian Sakautzki (Memorial and Museum Trutzhain)
Hannah van Reeth (JLU)
PD Dr. Florian Greiner (Memorial and Educational Site Emergency Reception Camp Giessen)
Aleš Kotva (UWB)
Michal Novotny (Museum of Šumava)
Bastian Högg (Memorial and Educational Site Emergency Reception Camp Giessen)

Project Results

Results will be published as soon as they have been reviewed, consolidated, and made available through the EUPeace network for the benefit of all participating communities.

As part of the “Research-Based Learning at Memorials and Museums” project, the first on-site working meeting took place in Pilsen from April 14 to 16, 2026.

During the meeting, project members explored key topics such as the re-reading of exhibitions, working with archival material, visitor analysis, public relations, and the role of testimonials, as well as overarching approaches to developing a shared toolbox. We were particularly pleased to exchange our initial ideas and reflections with history students from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

On the second day, we visited the Museum of Šumava in Sušice, which offered fascinating and inspiring insights into its work. The guided tour, discussions, and impressions of the museum’s exhibition “80x Díky!”—which focuses on the liberation of Sušice by the American army in 1945—further deepened our understanding of both the practical and conceptual dimensions of research-based learning in museum contexts.