Write

Draw

It can appear obvious how to classify a group or individual from WWII as a ‘perpetrator’, ‘bystander’ or ‘victim’, but not always. 
We often form our opinions based on our own background, upbringing and influences, and this is not only when it comes to the Holocaust. 
What influences can you identify in your own life that may have affected your opinions and view of the world? 
Make a pie chart. 
Divide your pie chart according to these headings, or feel free to change or add other influences. 
<ol><li>Parents </li><li>Partner </li><li>Friends </li><li>Teachers </li><li>News/politics </li><li>History </li><li>Religion </li><li>Internet</li></ol>

Influence Pie

Take up any drawing or painting materials that are available to you. Begin to make marks across the page as you think about what you have seen, heard and understood from your experience of the Houses of Darkness project. 
You do not need to draw specific shapes and recognisable forms unless you want to. Try changing the speed that you move your hand across the page, and vary how hard or gently you press into the paper. Can you make different types of marks? How much of the paper will you cover? What colours do you feel like using? Is white space important?
All these decisions will build up a visual interpretation or response to what you have experienced. You can submit either a photo of your drawing or a digital image.
Inspiration:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/nov/15/anselm-kiefer-review-white-cube-bermondsey-london" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anselm Kiefer - German Abstract Expressionist painter</a>

Make your Mark

Looking back, we can often see things more clearly. Think of a time when you had to make a big decision. What would have happened if you had taken a different path? What might your life be like now? 

Using any art materials, or an app on your phone/device, draw a picture that illustrates this imagined present. It is up to you to decide whether you want to make your sketch naturalistic or abstract. Give it a title.
You can submit either a photo of your drawing or a digital image and add a title in the text box provided.

Fork in the Road

The choices we make about our outward appearance and how we present ourselves to the world can carry powerful messages about who we are, where we are from or what we believe in. 
Look at yourself in a mirror. Think about what you are wearing today and how your choices in clothing, hairstyle or make-up tell the world something about who you are. 
Draw a self portrait. Use whatever drawing materials you have available to you. Take as much or as little time as you wish, it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece! 
You can submit a photo of your drawing or a digital image. If you like, you can add notes to your drawing, or mark details that are very important to you, to give us insight into why you have chosen to wear a particular piece of clothing or style your hair in a certain way. Or write them in the text box provided when you submit.

This Is Me

Very few survivors of the Holocaust and the tragic events of WWII are still alive today. Those that lived through those past atrocities are now very old or have since passed away. If a survivor, like Hans Margule, an OD’er who worked at Camp Westerbork from 1942-1945, got to talk to the grandson of a former Camp Commander, like Albert Konrad Gemmeker, what do you think they would say to each other? 
Imagine you are standing near to them and you overhear a little bit of their conversation. Write down their exchange - a text box is provided when you submit.

So, Tell Me…

Photo

When you buy a t-shirt, a mobile phone or a bar of chocolate, do you stop and think about where it has come from and who made it?
It is not always obvious. Most products have lots of links in a supply chain involving how it’s been made, assembled, transported, sold etc. Each link in a supply chain can help or hinder acts of perpetratorship. Who is culpable? Is it only the perpetrator who has profited from exploiting their workers, or does the customer who chooses to buy the product also bear some responsibility? 
Take a photograph of an item/s in your everyday life that you think might have dubious supply chains or unethical manufacturing practices. 
Inspiration: <a href="https://www.paradox.nl/project/bitter-chocolate-stories/#exhibition" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.paradox.nl/project/bitter-chocolate-stories/#exhibition</a>

Chain Reaction

We all use countless objects in our everyday lives, rarely giving them much thought. But our objects reflect the times we live in, just as old objects can tell us about the people who used them and connect us to the past.
If you are at one of the Memorial camps, find an object on display or from around the site that interests you. Or, if you are elsewhere, find an object that you consider to be old. It could be something in a box ready to discard or donate, a forgotten thing at the back of a drawer, or even an item that you buy from a charity shop. It doesn’t matter if the object is broken.
Using pen/pencil and paper: take your time to draw the object slowly and in silence while observing it as closely as you can. Don’t worry about making the drawing accurate or beautiful, the point is to pay attention to every little detail.
Cut out your drawing. Search for a place where you feel your object could belong. Hold it against this background and have it photographed. To share your response, upload your photo below.

Objects Speak Volumes

Your outward appearance and the clothes that you wear can carry powerful messages about who you are, where you are from or what you believe in. 
Can you think of a memorable outfit that you have worn? This could be something you wore/wear regularly or a special outfit from a significant day in your life. 
Describe your outfit in the text box below. Give as much detail as you can. What does/did it say about you? How does/did it make you feel? 
If you have the outfit, take a photo of it on the hanger, or laid out on the ground. Then upload your photo if you would like to share your response.
For inspiration, read this extract about the addictive power of the uniform by Louis de Wijze (1922), camp survivor about his experiences shortly after the liberation in 1945.

Who Am I?

Sound

Go outside and walk around the former campsite, if you are at one of the Memorial sites, or your local area. Listen to the sounds in the landscape or in the streets. What do they tell you about the way the environment is used now and who inhabits it? Are there any noises that suggest its past?
Using a voice app on your phone/device, make an audio recording of the sounds you can hear. Describe what you are listening to, what you can see and how it makes you feel or what it makes you think of. Mention any clues that suggest what might have been there before or the ways that humans have shaped the local area.
Upload your audio recording if you would like to share your response.
Inspiration: <a href="http://doragarcia.org/rezos/bristol/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://doragarcia.org/rezos/bristol/</a>

Echoes of the past

Sometimes talking out loud can be a good way to help process thoughts. Use a voice app on your phone/device and set a timer to run for 2 minutes.
Start with a sentence that explains what you have seen/heard from the Houses of Darkness project, and then let yourself carry on talking with any thoughts that come into your mind.
For example: “I have just had a conversation through Let’s Discuss about the Belsen-trials that took place in 1945. It got me thinking about…”
Upload your sound recording, if you would like to share your response.

Thought Process

Is there someone in your family who remembers World War II or a relative who was alive at that time, but is no longer living? Imagine you have the chance to sit down and talk to them. 
What would you like to ask them? Is there an aspect of the Houses of Darkness project that you would like to discuss with them? How do you think their experiences would relate to life today?
Set a timer for 2 mins and use a voice app on your phone/device to record your question/s, plus anything you imagine they might have said in response. If you have the privilege of being able to talk to someone who was alive at that time, please record your conversation and then edit or clip up to 5 minutes of audio.
Upload your audio recording if you would like to share your response.

Generation conversation

Can you see layers of history in your local environment? If you are at one of the Memorial sites, you may see evidence of the former camp or other periods in the site’s history. If you are somewhere else, you could observe the landscape, streets nearby, or even look for vestiges of past times within your own home. 
Using your camera as an extra eye, search for details that show traces of history or evidence of how the place around you may have changed over time. 
You can submit one photo and you are welcome to add a short description in the text box.

Layers of history

The trees at Camp Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen and Falstad, that were there during the 1940s, are sometimes referred to as “silent witnesses” in recognition of everything that has taken place “under their watch”.
Choose an inanimate object, like a leaf or stone outside at the Memorial site, or in your local area. See if you can line up your camera so that you can take a photograph from the perspective of that object. As the object won’t have eyes, you can choose which side you prefer to position your camera.
How long has the object been there? What might it have witnessed over the years, decades or centuries? You can submit one photo and you are welcome to note your thoughts in the text box.

Stone’s Eye View

Some former Nazi camps retain more material remains than others. First, go outside. If you are at one of the Memorial camps take some time to walk around and notice what is there, and not there.
Choose a tree or large object, either at the Memorial site or in your local area. With paper and pen or a drawing app on your phone/device, see if you can draw everything in view, except the object you’ve chosen. 
Focus your drawing on the gaps around and between solid things. For example, if you are drawing a tree, can you draw the gaps and spaces between its branches?
By focusing on the empty spaces around and between an object, we can shift our perception of what is here now, to softly imagine what may have been there before, or could come to be in the future.
You can submit either a photo of your drawing or a digital image.

Peripheral Vision

What objects do you have with you today that are precious, have significant meaning, or have a story behind them? This could be a piece of jewellery, something you keep in your wallet/bag or even an object at one of the Memorial sites that has some personal significance for you. Choose one and take a photo of it.
If you would like to explain its origin or why it is meaningful to you, you can add a short description in the text box when you submit your photo. However, even without any explanation, your image and the way you choose to photograph it, will, in itself, tell a story.
Inspiration: these objects were produced by prisoners at Falstad on the orders of the camp leaders to serve as souvenirs and gifts for their friends and families in Germany. Imagine the lives of the people who made these beautiful things and where other objects like these may have ended up today.

Everyday Relics

Consider the role of the apology. What difference does an apology make? Does a perpetrator’s admittance of wrongdoing help his or her victims? Does it feel better to receive an apology even if you are not able to forgive your perpetrator? Does the act of saying sorry also help the perpetrator? Is it ever too late to say sorry? 
Write a letter of apology. This can either be from you to someone in your life that you owe an apology to. Or it can be a letter of apology that you would like to receive. Or, you can note your thoughts on the meaning of apologies, if you prefer.
If you wish to submit your letter/thoughts you can write into the text box. Feel free to omit/use false names to make it anonymous.

Apologies

Museums including the memorial camps at Falstad, Westerbork and Bergen Belsen often display interpretative labels alongside the objects in their collections in order to give context for visitors. 
Consider whether knowing an object’s past makes you think differently about it. Does your perception or emotional attachment to an everyday item, garment or building, such as one of the former commander’s houses, change if you know its history?
Now, take an object of your choice and create an imagined backstory for it. Where could it have come from? Who might it have belonged to? Devise a title and write a label giving brief details of its fictional history. 
Either place your interpretive label next to your object and take a photo, or take a photo of your object and use the text box on the submission form for your label.

Imbuing Meaning

Respond to Simon Stranger’s text: <a href="https://falstad.housesofdarkness.eu/stp/attempts-to-grasp-the-inner-life-of-the-last-commander" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Futile Attempts to Grasp the Inner Life of the Last Commander</a> by writing a list poem, using this short extract as inspiration:
Did he sometimes stop on his way to the camp during the last spring of the war, lean his head backwards and watch the V-shaped flock of geese ploughing the morning sky? Did the sound of the calling birds bring back memories from his childhood, and the sight of migrating birds over the garden in Germany?
Write your list poem based on things that you have observed, which the camp commander of Falstad is also likely to have observed.
<a href="https://thanetwriters.com/essay/form/what-is-a-list-poem/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">What is a list poem?</a>
A list poem can be a list of single words, or it can be a list of sentences. These lists do not necessarily need rhythm or rhyme. What separates a list poem from a list is subtext. The items on your list should have a relationship to each other, tell a story or offer commentary.
Type your list poem into the text box on the submission form, if you would like to share your response.

Shared Observations

“It’s in me. It’s in you. It’s in the white lies we tell ourselves, the tiny alterations and the constant need for oblivion.”
Respond to the quote above from Simon Stranger’s text: <a href="https://falstad.housesofdarkness.eu/stp/a-journey-to-the-grey-zone" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Journey to the Grey Zone </a>by creating a collage of images that are personal to you.
Consider how Stranger’s text and the concept of the “grey zone” resonate with you and your own life. Be honest with yourself. Then select images that help to illustrate your “grey zone”. 
Compile your images digitally, make a paper collage and photograph it or select a single image if you are short on time.

The Grey Zone

The local choir from the village surrounding the Falstad memorial site was asked to perform an SS song as a contribution to one of the art installations for the Houses of Darkness project. Although the history and connotations of the song are very dark, the act of singing together retains a feeling of hope and positivity. In fact, it is often through positive means such as music that people are initially drawn to political movements or organisations of all intents. 
Record a song that you consider to be positive or that you believe carries a positive message. You can sing solo, or as a group, or ask someone else to sing on your behalf.
Upload your audio recording, if you would like to share your response. Feel free to add an explanation of your choice of song in the text box.

The Power of Song

Languages are forever changing and evolving. Different groups and organisations often construct or appropriate words to promote their ideologies or as sales terms. Codes and meanings can be hidden within words. So-called “slang” words enter common parlance via word of mouth and more rapidly when they are adopted by the media. 
Do you have any words that are personal to you and your family, or to you and your friends?
Tell us about one of those words, or make one up today. You can create an entirely new word; you could flip the meaning of an existing word; or you could amalgamate two or more words. 
Using the text box on the submission form, write a dictionary definition of your new word and insert it into a sentence, as an example of how to use it.
Inspiration:
<a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wicked" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here is a dictionary definition of the word “wicked”.</a>
<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WICKED" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here is the urban dictionary definition for the same word.</a>

Wicked Words

The meaning of symbols or names can be hi-jacked and changed by organisations or people. The swastika, for example, is an ancient symbol meaning “well-being” that was in use in many different cultures for at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler made it the centerpiece of the Nazi flag. Its present-day use by certain extremist groups promotes hate, which is in total opposition to its original meaning.
Go for a walk and take photos of symbols that you see in your local area. Research the history of one of them online and then come up with a new meaning for it. 
Inspiration:
<a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/history-of-the-swastika" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/history-of-the-swastika</a>
<a href="https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-punisher-skull/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-punisher-skull/</a>
Upload a photo of the symbol and then write its new meaning in the text box, if you would like to share your response.

Symbols and Signs

It is usually obvious how to classify a group or individual from the Holocaust as either a ‘perpetrator’, ‘bystander’ or/and ‘victim’, but not always.
Our personal position on disputable cases often depends on our own background, upbringing and influences, and this is not exclusive to the Holocaust. 
Read this news story from 2021 about <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59352228" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the case of Kyle Rittenhouse in the USA</a>. 
Are you drawn immediately to one “side” or the other? Think about why you believe it was right or wrong that Kyle was acquitted? Can you see it from the other side? 
Put yourself in the shoes of the people you DISAGREE with and record a short statement from that point of view defending why the verdict was right or wrong. 
If you would like to upload your response, write your statement into the text box on the submission form.

The Other Side

Many people have a distinguishing feature on their body that’s unique to them. Do you have a birthmark, tattoo, unusual piercing or a scar? What does this distinguishing feature say about you? It might represent a traumatic event/period, but it may be a source of pride or a symbol of your identity.
Write a short label to briefly describe your distinguishing feature, its origins or what it symbolizes to you. 
Hold your label next to your distinguishing feature and take a photo. Or take a photo and add your label in the text box on the submission form. If you would rather not upload your photo, you are welcome to submit your text on its own.

Distinguishing Features

Can we make a comparison between the children of Nazi perpetrators and the children of IS or Russian children now? Think about current or recent conflicts and the impact on innocent young lives. Read the articles below and try to imagine the difficulties faced by a child in these circumstances. 
<a href="https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/cheshire-boy-11-bullied-speaking-23449728?utm_source=linkCopy&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=sharebar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK local news article: Cheshire boy, 11, bullied for speaking Russian following invasion in Ukraine</a>
<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiR5rruprv4AhXZSkEAHX5uBzwQFnoECBsQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld-58888364&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ETyRxMhR-2DA0dU-aOGlN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC article: The children of IS: 'It's a disaster we cannot deal with'</a>

If you could message a Russian child living in your country or a child of IS, what would you send/say? You may wish to extend friendship, or offer a more neutral message of support to that child at this difficult time. 
Upload a photo and add your message into the text box on the submission form, if you would like to share your response.

Caught in the Crossfire

Think about the place where you grew up. Or, if you moved about, was there one particular place that you identify with most, which you would call your childhood home? Consider that place in relation to where you live now. It might be the same place, or it might feel as though there is a great distance between then and now.
Make a picture of that place using any art materials or a drawing app on your phone/device. Experiment with colour to express your memory of the place. Don’t worry about creating a masterpiece, but use this time to reflect on the Houses of Darkness project and the significance of a building in relation to your own life.
You can submit a photo of your drawing or your digital image.

Where are you from?

Where is home to you? Where would you say you are from? Is it where you live now, the place you grew up, or somewhere else? 
Think about that place. Is there a building or a room that comes to mind? An outside space or a particular view? Consider that place in relation to where you live now. It might be the same place, or it might feel as though there is a great distance between then and now.
Create a concrete poem about that place. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetry" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Concrete Poetry</a> is a kind of linguistic art in which the way words and letters look, and the shapes they form on the page, are as important as what they mean. 
It can be very short, or as long as you want it to be. Please write your poem into the text box on the submission form, or, if you find it easier by hand, you can write it on paper and upload a photo.

The Shape of Words

Go outside, either at the Memorial site you are visiting or into your local area, and find a tree that you like. Stand back and look at the whole tree. Take a photo of it. Now go up close to the tree. Look at the tiny details, such as the veins on a leaf or a section of bark. Take close up photos of these little details. 
Then look at the whole tree again. Has your perception of the tree changed in any way now that you have taken the time to scrutinise the details and understand its complexities?
The Houses of Darkness project raises questions about our perception of distance in relation to past events. For example, how connected we feel to what happened during WWII. Using this example of a tree, reflect on whether examining details can help you to perceive a whole subject more clearly, and therefore make you feel closer to it.
Choose one of the photos of a tree to upload, if you are happy to share your response. You can add any thoughts in the text box too, if you wish.

See the Tree

Hindsight is a powerful thing. When we look back, we can often see the reasons for our triumphs and failures more clearly than at the time. 
Think back to a time when you were younger. This could be when you were a child, teenager, or older, depending on how old you are now.
Have your opinions changed at all, and if so, why have they changed? What do you know now that you wish you had known then? Is there any advice that would have been good to hear? Or is there anything about the world today that you would like to warn or inform your younger self about?
Write your response into the text box below, if you are happy to share your thoughts.

Time Travel

Do you know any women who remember World War II? Or is there a female relative or friend you have known who was alive at that time, but is no longer living? Imagine you have the chance to sit down and talk to them. 
What would you like to ask them? What do you think they might say about how women were portrayed in the 1940s compared to today? Are there any other aspects of the Houses of Darkness project that you would like to discuss with them? How distinct do you think their stories might be from the men who were also there at that time?
Set a timer for 2 mins and use a voice app on your phone/device to record your question/s, plus anything you imagine they might have said in response. If you have the privilege of being able to talk to someone who was alive at that time, please record your conversation and then edit or clip up to 5 minutes of audio.

What Grandma said

Think of a female perpetrator, either from WWII or a more recent case you may have heard about in the news. Think about how that person was (or is) portrayed in the media. Make a list of attributes and nuggets of information you can remember about this person from what you have read and digested. Call this list “What I know”. Then make a list of what you would like to know about this person. Call this list “What I’d like to know”. 
If there are aspects of her crime/s, story or life that have been less publicised, consider why that might be. Do you think there would have been any differences in the way this person’s case was reported if they were male? Do you think that media portrayal of female perpetrators in the 1940s was different or similar to media portrayal of female perpetrators now? What about portrayal of women in general? 
If you would like to share your responses, use the text box on the submission form to write your lists and any further comments and reflections.

When Women Stand Trial

Sometimes it’s easier to work out what you think and feel by doing something creative. If you take part in a conversation through Let’s Discuss, you will be offered an activity that is tailored to you. Or you can choose one for yourself from the selection below.

Let’s Make

Creative Europe Provincie Drenthe Dutch Culture Gerhardt en Mieke Meijer educatiefonds Fritt Ord Foundation Mondriaan Fonds

Funders

<a href="https://www.paradox.nl/">Paradox</a><a href="https://bergen-belsen.stiftung-ng.de/"> Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen</a> <a href="https://falstadsenteret.no/"> Falstadsenteret</a><a href="https://kampwesterbork.nl/"> Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork</a><a href="https://www.standandstare.com/"> Stand + Stare</a>
<a href="https://housesofdarkness.localhost/"></a>