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Connecting Stories is a joint initiative by the Arolsen Archives and Terraforming that equips educators in Germany and Serbia to teach about migration and integration using a digital, multimedia learning module. The project equips teachers with the tools and training necessary to foster critical thinking, digital skills, and civic engagement among students. By connecting historical and contemporary perspectives, it promotes a deeper understanding of European values, such as inclusion and participation.
Through this initiative, teachers gain essential digital skills, pedagogical tools, and historical context to engage students in critical reflection on both past and present migration experiences. By equipping educators, we ultimately empower students to understand and embody shared European values such as diversity, empathy, and participation.
Target Groups
- Primary: School educators in Germany and Serbia – trained to implement the module and lead student discussions using interactive digital tools.
- Secondary: Students – the ultimate beneficiaries, who will explore migration through engaging lessons that promote civic awareness and inclusion.
This project addresses gaps in current curricula, promotes digital resilience in education, and supports a more cohesive and inclusive Europe.
The Journey Called Connecting Stories
When the organization Terraforming from Serbia and the Arolsen Archives from Germany joined forces, they shared a powerful vision: to tell the history of migration not as separate national events, but as a deeply connected, shared European story. Today, we can proudly say that the Connecting Stories project has been successfully completed, leaving behind a lasting legacy.
Through a short but intensive Erasmus+ partnership during 2025, a free, bilingual digital module was created. Instead of dry lessons, it takes young people on a journey through time—from Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis in the 1930s through the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to Serbian “guest workers” (gastarbeiters) and refugees from the wars of the 1990s, all the way to the modern Balkan route. Two young hosts, Kalina from Serbia and Uli from Germany, guide students through interactive video quizzes, inviting them to think critically, explore the same historical sources, and draw their own conclusions.
What Do the End-Users Say?
The project’s greatest success is not just in what was created, but in how it was received. The module was co-created with the people who will actually use it. During its development, the team visited classrooms in Serbia and Germany, tested the materials face-to-face, and collected over 160 surveys. The feedback was outstanding.
It is highly encouraging that 88% of students said they would like their teachers to use this quiz in regular classes, while 72% stated they would discuss these topics with their peers outside of school. Through this narrative approach, history stopped being just another school subject and became a starting point for conversations about humanity and responsibility.
Teachers were equally enthusiastic. Over 130 educators attended training sessions, and 73% of surveyed teachers pledged to integrate this module into their teaching within the next year. The majority acknowledged that they now feel much more confident discussing difficult and sensitive topics with students, such as discrimination, antisemitism, and the refugee experience.
A New Chapter on the Arolsen School Platform
Projects like this often fade away once the funding ends, but that is not the case here. Connecting Stories has found its permanent digital home.
The entire interactive module, along with detailed lesson plans authored by the teachers themselves, is now completely free and available to everyone on the Arolsen School educational platform. In this way, this cross-border story has become an open resource for classrooms across Europe, proving that an honest engagement with a difficult, shared past is the best foundation for mutual understanding in the present.
The Journey Called Connecting Stories
When the organization Terraforming from Serbia and the Arolsen Archives from Germany joined forces, they shared a powerful vision: to tell the history of migration not as separate national events, but as a deeply connected, shared European story. Today, we can proudly say that the Connecting Stories project has been successfully completed, leaving behind a lasting legacy.
Through a short but intensive Erasmus+ partnership during 2025, a free, bilingual digital module was created. Instead of dry lessons, it takes young people on a journey through time—from Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis in the 1930s through the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to Serbian “guest workers” (gastarbeiters) and refugees from the wars of the 1990s, all the way to the modern Balkan route. Two young hosts, Kalina from Serbia and Uli from Germany, guide students through interactive video quizzes, inviting them to think critically, explore the same historical sources, and draw their own conclusions.
What Do the End-Users Say?
The project’s greatest success is not just in what was created, but in how it was received. The module was co-created with the people who will actually use it. During its development, the team visited classrooms in Serbia and Germany, tested the materials face-to-face, and collected over 160 surveys. The feedback was outstanding.
It is highly encouraging that 88% of students said they would like their teachers to use this quiz in regular classes, while 72% stated they would discuss these topics with their peers outside of school. Through this narrative approach, history stopped being just another school subject and became a starting point for conversations about humanity and responsibility.
Teachers were equally enthusiastic. Over 130 educators attended training sessions, and 73% of surveyed teachers pledged to integrate this module into their teaching within the next year. The majority acknowledged that they now feel much more confident discussing difficult and sensitive topics with students, such as discrimination, antisemitism, and the refugee experience.
A New Chapter on the Arolsen School Platform
Projects like this often fade away once the funding ends, but that is not the case here. Connecting Stories has found its permanent digital home.
The entire interactive module, along with detailed lesson plans authored by the teachers themselves, is now completely free and available to everyone on the Arolsen School educational platform. In this way, this cross-border story has become an open resource for classrooms across Europe, proving that an honest engagement with a difficult, shared past is the best foundation for mutual understanding in the present.