The Memory of the Classroom.

Since 2022, the so-called “Historikerstreit 2.0” (Historians' Dispute 2.0) has been preoccupying German culture of remembrance. Postcolonial criticism asks whether the state-supported culture of remembrance with the Holocaust at its center still does justice to the post-migrant social realities of the present and also questions the singularity of the Holocaust. Is the Holocaust still a central part of the historical consciousness and historical narratives of all citizens living in the country, or are other (colonial) experiences of violence not taking place alongside it? And related to this, whose history is being told, for example, in historical museums or in history classes, despite all commitments to diversity? So do the hegemonic historical narratives still correspond to people's backgrounds of experience and, if that is not the case, what educational policy implications arise from the discrepancy between public and private remembrance?

The “Historikerstreit 2.0” (Historians' Dispute 2.0) is the starting point for the project “The Memory of the Classroom. Multidirectional Remembering in Schools in Graz”. The project will first use curriculum and textbook analyses as well as key question interviews with teachers to determine which contemporary historical narratives are taught in Graz schools. Then, in biographical interviews conducted by students with their parents and grandparents, it will be empirically determined which historical narratives are present in family memories. Based on these interviews, a traveling exhibition on “Multidirectional Remembering in Graz Schools” will be designed together with the students and a book publication will be produced that takes into account the expected polyphony of memory. Both the traveling exhibition and the publication will be supplemented by didactic handouts and, based on the project results, guidelines for teacher training and further education will be developed.

The project is carried out at six schools in the city of Graz, which differ from one another and therefore cover a wide range of diversity. Two secondary schools were selected (one with a with a strong digital focus, one with a craft focus), as well as four high schools. First the Catholic private school Sacre-Coeur, second the academic high school in the city center, third the Oeverseegymnasium, which is dominated by immigrants, and fourth the school Klusemannstraße, which combines a secondary school branch with the high school.

These very different schools offer the opportunity to draw the attention on very diverse family memories, which the young people can explore for themselves. As a result, they not only develop methodological skills, but also gain agency (the power to act) in the above-mentioned societal debate. This is realized by them through their research work, the publication and, last but not least, the traveling exhibition - in this way, they not only become part of the research processes, but also become visible in public with their family stories.