Maria (25 years old)
The trip to Guernika was especially a trip through the history of this village, which is marked by being bombed by the German Air Force in April 1937.
Although I knew about the events already because I had been to Guernika a good five years ago, these two days furnished me with me new insight.
The contact with the two survivors (Luis and a woman whose name I unfortunately don't know) made a special impression. The way they told us their story and the interest in which they told it was very moving.
I am especially happy when I remember the time when I had to translate for Matthias, who already knew both of them. I had the opportunity to ask them my own questions in the atmosphere of trust among the three others; they were happy to answer. This showed me that the best way to absorb and understand history is to communicate directly with the people who experienced it.
That is why in retrospect I find it a shame that there was no direct dialog between Luis and the group. I think that this is also difficult in an atmosphere where there are clear differences between the storyteller and the audience. For this reason, group work would have been a better way — also to have allowed the "intergenerational dialog" that the program was targeting to have become a reality.