Future Fund promotes German-Czech remembrance work

Almost 80 years after the Holocaust and the end of the Second World War, the German-Czech Future Fund is supporting remembrance work on this dark chapter of German history.

One of the newly funded projects is an exchange between grammar schools in Pirna, Saxony, and Melnik near Prague. It brings together 8th and 9th grade students, according to a spokesperson for the Future Fund in Prague. The motto of the project - "Never again we decide - every day" - is intended as a reminder that what happened back then must never be allowed to happen again.

Sculptors exhibit across borders

A cross-border artistic dialog on the topic of "War, Freedom, Art" is also planned. German artists are to present their works in the Czech cities of Olomouc, Prague, Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) and Cheb (Eger). In return, four Czech sculptors are to exhibit in Wunsiedel in north-eastern Bavaria.

"This year marks the 80th anniversary since the end of the Second World War, the memento of which is all the more powerful at a time when the world is striving to end the armed conflict in Ukraine," announced the Board of Directors of the Future Fund.

After the Munich Agreement of September 1938, National Socialist Germany annexed the Sudeten territories of Czechoslovakia. In March 1939, the Wehrmacht marched into Prague and established the so-called "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia". The Nazis' reign of terror only ended with the liberation by the Allies in 1945.

Board of Directors approves new funding

The Czech-German Future Fund, based in Prague, promotes cross-border projects and initiatives. At its spring meeting, the Board of Directors approved a total of 1.4 million euros for 222 German-Czech projects, including a grant for the State Garden Show Furth im Wald 2025.

A higher grant than usual is possible for projects dedicated to the annual theme "Never again". The Future Fund was founded in 1997 to contribute to understanding between Germans and Czechs. It is jointly financed by the governments in Berlin and Prague.