RTTE - Resistance Through Their Eyes


 

 

 

The European Commission published the call for project proposals "European Remembrance - CERV-30-CITIZENS-REM" on 2021 November 2022, with a deadline of 24 March 2022.


The objective of the above call was to support projects aimed at commemorating significant events in modern European history, including the causes and consequences of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and at raising awareness among European citizens of their common history, their culture , their cultural heritage and values, thus improving their understanding of the European Union, its origins, its purpose, its diversity and its achievements, as well as the importance of mutual understanding and tolerance.


The project proposals that were presented had to address one or both of the following political priorities established for 2022 by the European Commission: 
• commemoration, research and education on crimes committed under totalitarian regimes    
• resistance, democratic transition and democratic consolidation in the EU
The “Resistance through their Eyes” project, presented under this call, was the winner and funded as per the communication dated 8/09/2022 from the lead partner.

 

 

Main challenges

Carried out almost 80 years after the Second World War and the Nazi occupation of Europe, the project has as its main objective to deepen a multi-perspective understanding of the European Resistance and to demonstrate how different minority groups, communities and countries have resisted during the war. The Project is aimed at minors.


The main challenge to be faced is being able to convey a strong and incisive message on complex issues to an audience of boys and girls in a way that allows for a broad understanding of the topic without, however, making it excessively burdensome.
Boys and girls, boys and girls will be invited to visit the House of Memory and the traveling exhibition. Here they will be invited to listen to a historical expert or an eyewitness and explain their personal stories and their relationship with current events in their own words. During the event, an urban game will be organized on the stories of resistance in Milan so as to interest them more in the topics covered and make the experience pleasant and engaging.


We learn during play, because numerous sensory activities are triggered. Play becomes school: the senses, emotions and brain develop and accompany children, boys and girls, guiding them into the world of knowledge and memory.

Child protection/safeguarding policy: The project involves direct contact with children, each funding beneficiary (including partners) working directly with children during the project must provide their own child protection/safeguarding policy.
La protection and safeguarding policy for minors of the Municipality of Milan for the RTTE project safeguards all children, regardless of abilities, ethnicity, faith, gender, sexuality and culture. 

Partnership

• LRE Foundation (Stichting Liberation Route Europe, NL) - Coordinator
• Resistance Museum Amsterdam (Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, NL)
• White Rose Foundation (Weisse Rose Stiftung eV, DE)
• Home Army Museum Krakow (Muzeum Armii Krajowei, PL)
• Municipality of Milan (Municipality of Milan, IT)

Quick Links 
• Project website: https://www.lre-foundation.org/resistance-through-their-eyes/
• "Milan is Memory": https://www.comune.milano.it/web/milano-memoria/-/resistance-through-their-eyes-rtte-
• Urban Game: https://www.enigmap.net/i-segreti-ribelli-di-milano/
• "The virtual exhibition": https://www.through-their-eyes.org/homepage-resistance-eng/
 

The main objective of the project proposal "Resistance Through Their Eyes" (EYES) is to spread knowledge and share different perspectives of the Resistance to Nazi occupation during the Second World War.


By connecting teachers, students and eyewitnesses from different European countries, the project aims to:
• highlight the different national perspectives on this historical period,
• foster mutual understanding that goes beyond borders,
• explain the role that Europe has had in the post-war period in terms of remembrance, justice and reconciliation,
• reach young people by encouraging them to visit places of memory of the Second World War and of the resistance, involving them in activities that allow them to understand the importance of defending human rights and of transmitting this lesson to future generations to oppose acts of aggression and tyranny and it is expected that they will be able to learn and transmit the very concept of memory and resistance and that they will be able, as citizens of tomorrow, to transmit it.


The consortium, made up of international NGOs and local public organisations, will achieve these objectives by showing and telling different personal stories related to the Resistance, giving young people the opportunity to visit places of remembrance, meet eyewitnesses and engage in a European dialogue . This also allows for a special connection and better understanding of different experiences of the long-term consequences of the Second World War, in particular justice, remembrance and reconciliation processes in the post-war period. By telling stories linked to the symbolic places of these regions, young people can reflect on this history to ensure it is never repeated again.

The Municipality of Milan was invited as a partner of the project and in collaboration with the Ferruccio Parri Institute, is responsible for the following activities: 
• organize a youth event dedicated to the students of Milan at the Casa della memoria accompanying them to discover the exhibition and the testimonies through an Urban Game on the themes of the project and the creation of a video of the event;
• mobilize and invite the Milan school network to participate in the youth event;
• communicate and invite the general public to visit the exhibition at the Casa della Memoria;
• invite local education officials to the training session organized by the lead entity;
• ensure coordination with the Parri Institute and other partners in Milan;
• ensure coordination with the LRE Foundation.


As project partners, representatives of the Municipality of Milan were also invited to participate in all other project events. Travel and accommodation costs for participation will be fully covered by the grant.
Furthermore, the Municipality of Milan is organizing, within the House of Memory, a space in which an exhibition will be set up, with the support of the entire partnership on the themes of the project. This will be a historical exhibition that will be co-designed with 4 European historians who will select around 25 personal stories of different types of experiences of those who resisted the totalitarian Nazi regime.

Through the use of personal testimonies, this project aims to increase public knowledge relating to this chapter of European history and will raise awareness of the key role that resistance played during the war, as well as to help combat the resurgent discrimination and broad historical narrative of World War II including the Holocaust. The expected results are:
• illustrate the international dimension of the history of resistance during the Second War in Europe using a multinational and multi-perspective approach;
• publicize the wide range of experiences of those who participated in the resistance, including women, students, and minorities (e.g. Roma/Sinti, Jews, homosexuals);
• highlight the importance of safeguarding human rights and renouncing all forms of discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, identity, sexual orientation, etc.;
• promote the education of young people through first-hand visits to places of historical memory and international dialogue.

Total duration: 24 months
Expected start: 01/03/2023
Estimated deadline: 28/02/2025

Updated: 17/04/2024