Remembering. The Children of Bullenhuser Damm
Searching for clues in your own school
Around 1980, five teenagers in Hamburg are living their everyday lives as normal. They go to the school on Bullenhuser Damm. In the stairwell, a small, inconspicuous plaque hangs, hinting at a grim event in 1945. But what is written on it is hardly enough to know exactly what happened back then.
About the game
Take on the role of one of the main characters and set out in search of clues to find out more. Explore your surroundings, talk to other characters and journey through their memories. What can you discover about the history of the school on Bullenhuser Damm?
This point-and-click adventure combines the everyday lives of young people in the 1980s with the story of one of the final Nazi crimes: on the night of 20–21 April 1945, 20 Jewish children were murdered at the school on Bullenhuser Damm; they had previously been subjected to medical experiments at Neuengamme concentration camp.
Relatives of the victims played a pioneering role in the development process through their voices and memories. The game was developed in collaboration with the Bullenhuser Damm Memorial and funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation.
Gameplay
Erinnern is a classic point-and-click adventure:
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Explore: Investigate the school and its surroundings
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Talk: Have conversations with other characters
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Remember: Journey through the memories of the people you meet
- Understand: Piece together the puzzle of the story
Education & Use
The game was developed specifically for educational purposes and is available free of charge. It is suitable for use in the classroom as well as for workshops at the memorial site itself.
Learning objectives
Players engage with key themes:
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Nazi crimes: What happened at the school on Bullenhuser Damm?
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Medical crimes: How were people abused for experiments under the Nazis?
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Culture of remembrance: How do we deal with sites of Nazi history?
- Searching for traces: How can history be discovered in one’s own surroundings?
Areas of application
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History (Secondary Levels I/II): The Nazi era, the Holocaust, culture of remembrance
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Ethics / Religion: Human dignity, remembrance, dealing with historical guilt
- Local history: Particularly suitable for schools and groups in Hamburg
Target audience
Recommended for ages 14 and over. Suitable for individual and group work as well as for workshops at the memorial site.
Teaching materials
Support materials are available for teachers:
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Teacher’s guide (PDF)
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Supplementary material with profiles and character descriptions
Workshops
The Bullenhuser Damm Memorial offers bookable workshops in which the game is played and reflected upon together.