On Monday, December 9, 2024, the North Rhine-Westphalia University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration (HSPV NRW) presented the interactive website of the research project "Places of Police History" at its Duisburg campus. The project presents around 50 relevant places of police history in North Rhine-Westphalia with a focus on the Weimar Republic and National Socialist era.
"The new map 'Places of Police History' is a journey through time into the history of the North Rhine-Westphalia police force. Because history is always the best teacher and a practical handbook for today. This includes revealing mistakes from earlier days and making them transparent, when the police were not the 'friend and helper'. Dealing with this not only strengthens trust in the police, but also the democratic resilience of our authorities both internally and externally," emphasized Interior Minister Herbert Reul, who personally viewed the results of the research project in Duisburg, which was launched in 2020 on the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior.
A research group from the Institute for History and Ethics of Police and Public Administration (IGE) at the HSPV NRW, consisting of Prof. Dr. Dr. Dimitrij Davydov, Prof. Dr. Christoph Giersch, Dr. Frank Kawelovski, Dr. Christoph Riederer and Nanina Marika Sturm, was responsible for the project. They worked on the history of various historical sites of police work in North Rhine-Westphalia using texts, original documents as well as historical and modern photographs and film footage. The dossiers on the individual locations contain extensive material, some of which was previously unknown to the general public, from the Federal Archives, the State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia and numerous municipal archives.
An interactive map of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia makes it quick and easy to navigate to the sites presented. Didactic usage concepts have been developed for each site. These are primarily intended to be used in the context of excursions to the places of remembrance, but can also be used for blended learning formats as part of online access. The aim is to make historical police behavior appropriately accessible and to reflect on possible lessons for police practice today based on this.
"This work is an important part of our joint efforts to shape responsible and human rights-oriented police work in North Rhine-Westphalia," praises Martin Bornträger, President of the HSPV NRW. "It is and remains important to continue research in this important field and to communicate the results to our students in order to ensure a firm and democratic value system for future police work."
This look into the past and the misconduct of the police under National Socialism is intended to show prospective police officers in particular how important the protection of democracy and human rights is in today's police work. However, the interested public can now also access the map and the materials.
After the presentation of the project homepage and the interactive map, a panel discussion took place between representatives of the police, the Brauweiler memorial site and students on the topics and benefits of the new platform.
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