Memorial education faces a dual challenge: it must adopt a critical approach to ideology — identifying antisemitism (and other forms of group-focused hostility), deconstructing dehumanisation, and analysing perpetrators’ perspectives — whilst at the same time being accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of prior knowledge, language skills or formal education. Plain language, accessible design and diversity-sensitive formats are no longer marginal issues, but form part of the educational ethos of many institutions.
But what happens to an argument that is critical of ideology when it is simplified? Do visitors recognise the difference between a statement that describes anti-Semitism and one that analyses and deconstructs it? Does linguistic simplification lead to a deeper understanding — or does it primarily generate agreement without insight?
The symposium ‘Inclusive and Ideology-Critical?’ takes this tension seriously and makes it the focus of its discussions. It brings theory and practice into dialogue: linguistic and ideology-theoretical perspectives meet concrete experiences from exhibitions, school programmes and digital formats. Empirical findings on the reception of memorial site programmes will be discussed, as will the question of what multimodal mediation — podcasts, audio description, exhibition design — means for the aim of being critical of ideology.
The full conference programme is yet to be announced. On the first day of the conference, we will begin at 11.30 with admission, registration and lunch. The conference will end at 14.30 on the second day.
Please register by 11 September 2026 using the online form below.
A fee of 85 euros is charged for participation, which includes food and drink. If you have any queries regarding registration, please contact info@stiftung-ng.de.
This symposium is a joint event organised by the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation and the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz Memorial and Educational Centre.