BUS-eum Exhibition at the German School of Washington

On April, 27th, 2011, history courses at the German School of Washington were different from the ordinary: The German Historical Institute helped to bring the exhibition "Held on the Homefront: German POWs in the USA, 1943-1946" to the school. Written and compiled by TRACES, a non-profit history institution from St. Paul, Minnesota, the exhibit focused on the history of the more than 425,000 German and Austrian POWs (May 1945), which were placed into more than 660 POW-camps all over the US heartland. Central sources were presented in a BUS-eum, a 40-foot school bus converted into a mobile classroom.

The event, generously supported by the School's director Waldemar Gries and his assistant Uwe Kehrer, was offered to grade 9-12 history classes, whose students enjoyed this opportunity together with their history teachers. The event started with a general introduction by TRACES tour guide Irving Kellman in the German School's auditorium, followed by a short documentatary on German POWs in Camp Algona, Iowa. Afterwards, every class had an additional hour to visit the BUS-eum and to discuss the history of the POWs in detail. The GHI team (Sabine Fix, Mandy Decker, Wiebke Glässer, and Uwe Spiekermann) left the German School grateful for the hospitality of very engaged teachers and students.

Uwe Spiekermann