Susanna Harper

Raising Pupils' Awareness of the Needs of Refugees in Baden-Wurttemberg Today Susanna Harper

Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject History Europe - Germany - National Socialism, World War II, University of Education Freiburg im Breisgau, language: English, abstract: Abstract According to the UNHCR, there are currently an estimated 42 Mio refugees worldwide. These include those persons who are currently internally displaced, those who have crossed a border and applied for asylum, and those who have been granted refugee status. In 1951, the Geneva Convention defined refugees as persons who, due to violence, persecution, or war, are forced to leave their home (cf. Angenendt 1999: 19). Refugees are no new phenomena; they have existed for thousands of years. To this day, refugee situations are born out of conflict and disaster, and though societies change in structure and convictions, the `refugee question` remains. This thesis shall explore the ways in which the autobiography of Alice Dreifuß Goldstein, a German Jewish refugee from Kenzingen who immigrated to the USA in 1939, can raise pupils` awareness of the needs of refugees in Freiburg in Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, today. Motivation In May 2008, there were serious xenophobic attacks all over South Africa. Starting in Johannesburg's township of Alexandra, the violence spread rapidly to other parts of the country. By the end of the month, thousands had lost their homes and businesses through arson and theft. Many of them had become victims of heavy beatings, rape, or murder. The Central Methodist Church, situated in downtown Johannesburg, was overcrowded with people. It gave shelter to over 2000 refugees, mostly Zimbabweans. To this day (more than five years later), many of them still live there. They sleep on the stairs and benches of the church building. In response, the government organised buses that would transport thousands of immigrants back to their countries of origin; countries they had fled mostly due to civil war or tyrannical governments. Of course, these shippings were said to