Pilot Activities at Abbey-Turned-Holocaust Education Centre Planned from May 2022

On Wednesday 16 March 2022, the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians) officially handed over the keys of the Abbey of Cinqfontaines to Luxembourg's Minister for the Civil Service, Marc Hansen, who represented on this occasion the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch.

The Luxembourg State acquired the monastery, located in the municipality of Wincrange, near Troisvierges, as part of an agreement last year between the government and the Jewish Consistory of Luxembourg on unresolved issues following the spoliation of Jewish property during the Second World War. This Shoah (also known as the Holocaust) memorial site will be transformed into a commemorative and educational centre called "Centre Cinqfontaines".

Educational activities will be implemented gradually by the Zentrum fir politesch Bildung (ZpB; in English: centre for political education) and the National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse - SNJ). They will aim to confront young people and adults with the history of the place, more particularly with the persecution of Luxembourg's Jewish population. A second component will concern the promotion of democracy, humanism and human rights.

"Remembering doesn't just mean remembering the past, but also showing respect to those who lived through this painful history. Remembering also means analysing the past with a certain critical thought, to prevent today any resurgence of hatred and any incitement to hatred. In this context, the Centre Cinqfontaines will accomplish a double mission, both commemorative and educational", explained Education Minister Claude Meisch.

Pilot activities will be offered to "maisons relais" (childcare facilities), primary and secondary schools and the general public from mid-May 2022. A more complete programme will be offered from the start of the 2022-23 school year. This will include activities and training courses that fight against hate speech and "project weeks", organised with regional, national and international partners. Initial contacts have been made with organisations in the region, from cultural institutions to music schools and youth centres.

Moreover, Centre Cinqfontaines will host events commemorating the victims deported from Cinqfontaines during the Holocaust. A route with information panels will illustrate the history of the site and guided tours will be organised. There are also plans to integrate the site into circuits linked to the memory of the Second World War.

The centre will be open to external institutions and organisations, which will be able to organise activities there and carry out projects related to the objectives of the centre, either independently or in cooperation with the ZpB and the SNJ. In order to build a network of partners, exchange workshops will be organised on 27 April 2022 in Cinqfontaines and on 3 May 2022 at Forum Geesseknäppchen in Luxembourg-Merl.

A website, including a description of the history of the site and educational offers, will launch before the summer of 2022.

At the beginning of October 2022, an "open doors" weekend will serve as an opportunity to present the new course on the site, as well as the results of the first projects with young people.

The SNJ is in charge of the administrative, financial and organisational management of Centre Cinqfontaines. The renovation of the monastery and its annexes is planned together with Luxembourg's Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

In the coming weeks, Centre Cinqfontaines will also temporarily house Ukrainian refugees. Whilst this will impact the centre's activities, this "act of humanism illustrates the very values ​​that the centre intends to defend and transmit", according to the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.