The Minister of Culture is also responsible for the memorials in the state and was accompanied by Tayfun Tok and Tobias Vogt, members of the state parliament. The group of visitors took a guided tour of the new PKC building in Freudental, were informed in detail about the educational and cultural work at the PKC as well as the numerous collaborations and exchange programs and also visited the Jewish cemetery. After being welcomed by District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier and PKC Association Chairman Albrecht Dautel, the head of the office, Isolde Kufner, first gave a tour of the new seminar room and the rooms in the new building on Strombergstrasse. Jessica Kuge (FSJ Culture volunteer) and the Head of Education & Culture, Michael Volz, then gave a tour of the synagogue and the Geniza (a hidden depository for storing writings).
"We deliberately chose this location for Minister Schopper's inaugural visit," says District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier. "The PKC is an example of how actively coming to terms with the worst chapter of German history to date always points the way towards dialog and international understanding." Especially in times of growing anti-Semitism, it is important to combat prejudice with education and information.
"This is why we have signed a declaration with the Center for School Quality and Teacher Training (ZSL) and other partners from Baden-Württemberg to promote extracurricular historical sites," says Minister of Education Theresa Schopper. The declaration is intended to strengthen extracurricular places of history such as the PKC by promoting on-site cooperation between memorial sites and schools.
The PKC offers a comprehensive further education program where teachers, for example, can learn about topics such as anti-Semitism, dialogue and tolerance and how to teach them. Young people from different cultural backgrounds regularly come together at the PKC. Pupils can learn the Hebrew alphabet, find out about historical events during the Nazi dictatorship or learn what life was like for Jews in Freudental in the past. According to District Administrator Allgaier, the PKC's offer shows that flourishing Jewish life, but also its suppression and extermination by the Nazi terror, did not only take place far away, but in the regional neighborhood right on our doorstep.
