In mid August Eva and I attended the open day at the Concentration Centre Uckermark, about 2 hours north of Berlin.

It was super interesting for me.

I must say, I had previously admired the way Germany dealt with their gruesome past. However this time round, I guess I’ve delved a little further into the history, seen it from a more critical perspective, and learnt, unfortunately, that it’s not all so praiseworthy. This concentration centre we visited was for girls who were problematic, or anti-social, for girls who rebelled or had “loose” sexual relationships. The Nazis named it a “Youth Protection” Centre, meaning for the protection of the Arian youth in mainstream society. Life in the concentration centre was hard for the imprisoned girls, between 16 and 21. They were strictly disciplined, fed little and had to do forced labour. Many of course died. However the history is somewhat unclear and is still being pieced together.

It was only in the 70’s that the centre was officially acknowledged as a concentration centre. Until the 90’s the area served as military land in East Germany and all the buildings were replaced with tanker garages. In 1995 a sign was finally erected on the grounds saying, “you are not forgotten”. The larger, nearby concentration centre Ravensbrück was refurbished as a memorial centre, however there was no money left for the girls centre, Uckermark. Since 1997 there have been yearly DIY womyns camps at the centre in order to create a remembrance site. On these camps significant work has been done including research, oral history, signposting of the area, exhibitions and artworks.  The work done by these womyn is truly amazing and inspiring. It was an extremely moving experience to be there.