Students from several high schools in the Bages region, Central Catalonia, participated in an educational trip to the Mauthausen Memorial in Austria this past weekend. The visit was part of a project by the Amical de Mauthausen Association, designed to teach about historical memory and the horrors of Nazism.
The expedition included A-level students from Gerbert d'Aurillac in Sant Fruitós de Bages, and Lluís de Peguera, Cal Gravat, Lacetània, Manresa SIS, and Pius Font i Quer in Manresa. This programme helps young people understand the consequences of Nazism and works to preserve historical memory, ensuring that events like those of the Second World War are not repeated.
Exploring Memorial Sites
During their stay, the students visited the Mauthausen concentration camp and the local memorial in the Austrian municipality. The town's mayor received the group there. They also saw the memorial near the home of Anna Pointner, the Austrian woman who hid the photographic negatives taken by Francesc Boix and other prisoners from the camp.
The group also travelled to the Ebensee Memorial, where they explored the camp's tunnels. They participated in a joint tribute ceremony with Italian students, according to the Amical de Mauthausen Association.
International Commemorations and Catalan Memory
Sunday's activities included a visit to Catalonia's memorial within the Mauthausen camp. Students also took part in international events organised by the International Mauthausen Committee. They visited monuments dedicated to Spanish Republican and French deportees.
More than a thousand Catalan prisoners, exiled after the Spanish Civil War, died at the Mauthausen camp, the organisation noted. The educational journey concluded with a visit to Hartheim Castle.
This activity is part of a wider educational project. It seeks to raise awareness among young people about the impact of Nazism and to keep the memory of these events alive. The goal is to prevent such atrocities from happening again.
