“Berthold Beitz school trips to Berlin”: Krupp Foundation draws a positive interim conclusion
In 2023, the Krupp Foundation, together with the City of Essen and in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Berlin, has launched the “Berthold Beitz School Trips to Berlin” programme. In the spirit of German-Jewish understanding, the funding programme enables ten school classes from Essen to travel to Berlin for three consecutive years, including to the Jewish Museum Berlin and other places of remembrance of the National Socialist dictatorship. This school year, five groups, including one grammar school, two secondary schools, one lower secondary school and one vocational college, have already travelled to Berlin as part of the programme. The Krupp Foundation and the City of Essen have drawn a positive interim balance: while the applications reflect an examination of both Jewish history and the life of Berthold Beitz, the feedback from teachers and pupils shows that the workshops at the Jewish Museum in particular encourage pupils to reflect on Jewish culture and history and help to deepen their historical understanding. As part of the current second round of applications, school classes in Essen can apply for a trip to Berlin until 11 April. The foundation is funding the programme with a total of 300,000 euros.
The programme pays tribute to Berthold Beitz, the long-standing Chairman of the Krupp Foundation, who saved hundreds of Jewish people during the Second World War and was honoured in Yad Vashem as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’. ‘In memory of Berthold Beitz, the foundation wants to strengthen values such as civil courage and tolerance as well as awareness of social responsibility. To this end, the project aims to sensitise young people to Jewish history and culture through participation and the experience of places of history and remembrance,’ says Prof. Ursula Gather, Chairwoman of the Krupp Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The funding programme is part of the foundation’s commitment to German-Jewish understanding, which also includes projects such as the Berthold Beitz Fellowships at the American Academy in Berlin and a scholarship programme at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. Since 1968, the foundation has invested around 20 million euros in 268 projects.