It was created in the past school year by Year 12 pupils at IGS Salzgitter.
The project was supported by the education officer of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. (German War Graves Commission), Dr. Rainer Bendick. The object of research was the war memorial at St. Nicolai Church. Based on the memorial, the participating pupils examined the content of the end of the war in 1918, the suppressed defeat, the "stab-in-the-back legend" and the press coverage of the end of the war in 1918.
The result of this project is the plaque, which informs visitors to the church about the historical background of the war memorial. The Braunschweigische Sparkassenstiftung and the "Schule ohne Rassismus - Schule mit Courage" network sponsored the costs, which amounted to around 1,200 euros.
"This plaque is the result of a great and lasting collaboration between IGS Salzgitter and the German War Graves Commission," said Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, who is also the district chairman of the German War Graves Commission, welcoming the guests and IGS pupils. He recalled the depressing number of victims in the First World War of up to 50 million war dead worldwide, of which around 9.5 million were soldiers. And the reasons for the rise of the Nazis in Germany and thus for the Second World War, which in turn claimed around 60 million victims worldwide, can be found at the end of the First World War. "For this reason alone, I think your work is invaluable," said the district chairman, praising the pupils, "because it is important to remember the horrors of the First World War and the civilian and military victims, both on a large and small scale. Through your work, you are stimulating a process of reflection on the First World War and the incredible suffering it caused in Europe."
This plaque dedication was the third of its kind. In the past two years, two plaques were inaugurated at the Old Cemetery in Lebenstedt (for war graves from the Second World War and for a war memorial commemorating the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871).
IGS Salzgitter has now included the "History and Remembrance Plaque" project in the curriculum of its social science profile. Such a project is also planned for the current school year.
The inauguration of the plaque was rounded off with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Gerd Krumeich, who spoke in the auditorium of IGS Salzgitter about "Die unbewältigte Niederlage. The trauma of the First World War and the Weimar Republic".
