Personal stories wanted

Remembering and Commemorating Cap Arcona Since 1945: Personal Stories Sought

For the new Cap Arcona Documentation Center in Neustadt in Holstein, scheduled to open in 2028, the exhibition organizers are seeking personal accounts of how the events of May 1945 were remembered in the decades that followed.

On May 3, 1945, thousands of concentration camp prisoners lost their lives in the Bay of Lübeck during attacks on the Cap Arcona and other ships. Hundreds of people were murdered in the water, on the beach, and during a death march in Neustadt in Holstein. For many decades, memorial cemeteries, monuments, and exhibitions in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have commemorated these events at the end of World War II, and memorial events are held regularly—for example, in Neustadt, Haffkrug, Timmendorf, Groß-Schwansee, Grevesmühlen, Klütz, and on the island of Poel.

A documentation center with a new exhibition is now being established in Neustadt in Holstein. This exhibition will not only provide information about May 3, 1945, and the events leading up to it, but will also focus on the commemoration and remembrance of these events in the decades that followed.

The exhibition organizers are asking people in the region for their support. How was this discussed in families, at school, in clubs, churches, or workplaces—or was it kept silent? What did you experience at official commemorative events, and what did that mean to you? Have you yourself participated in commemorative and remembrance work, and how important do you consider that to be? The project also explores differences between West (FRG) and East (GDR) up until 1989. We are reaching out to people in or from Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

We are looking for:

• personal memories and stories (including those of grandparents, parents, neighbors, etc.)
• experiences with school and memorial sites
• photos, documents, or mementos

Interested? Then please contact the Cap Arcona Documentation Center project team at caparcona@stadt-neustadt.de or by phone at 04561-619323.

We are seeking diverse perspectives from West and East Germany 

In West Germany, many families spoke little about the final weeks of the war for a long time—or only decades later. We are therefore particularly interested in:

• When and how did you first learn about the disaster in your family? Was it discussed—or was there silence?
• What personal reactions or feelings do you recall? 
• Have perspectives changed over time? 
• How was and is the topic discussed at school, in church, and in clubs?

Perhaps you remember stories from your parents or grandparents—or have kept documents and photos. Even fragmentary memories are of great importance to us. We would like to understand how remembrance has evolved since 1945 and what role personal family histories play in this.

We welcome

• stories from parents or grandparents
• personal memories
• photos, letters, or documents, objects

In the GDR, remembrance of Nazi crimes was part of a state-shaped anti-fascist culture of remembrance. We are interested in: 

• How were these events discussed in your personal circle? 
• What personal reactions or feelings do you recall? 
• What role did school, commemorative events, or public presentations play? 
• And how did these differ from private conversations within the family?
• Were there any family memories that differed from this—or did they complement the public narrative?
• How has remembrance changed since reunification?

Stories from parents and grandparents, as well as personal impressions from later years, are also valuable to us. We want to understand how individual memory and public commemoration interacted—and how these perspectives have changed to this day.

We welcome:

• personal memories and stories
• experiences with schools and memorial sites
• photos, documents, or mementos