Germany

Born in 1992 in Göttingen, Germany
Rebecca is studying law at Passau University in Germany. (Last updated 2013)

"Remembrance Means Life - In Memoriam Gudrun Goeseke" (2009) with Felicitas Mügge

Rebecca Swalve wrote her project on the life and activity of Gudrun Goeseke (1926-2008) a local heroine, whose work and efforts to preserve the lost archive of the Jewish congregation in Halle remained underestimated and not sufficiently appreciated until her death. It all started in 1978, when Gudrun found in the basement of the Halle Jewish Community Centre some old documents containing lists and documents of the deported Jews from this city. She started to organize the archive which had been in a state of complete disorder and through her dedication tried to keep the memory of the killed Jews from Halle alive. But not always good intentions are well understood. In the time of the GDR a great effort was put to abolish religious communities. The Stasi secret police had its spies everywhere and these tried to hinder Gudrun Goeseke in her attempts of unveiling the truth about deportations. After 1990 the archive was seen as the Jewish congregation’s memory and heritage and Mrs. Goeseke was involved in establishing  an association that until today deals with the effects of the two German dictatorships: the national socialist and the socialist one.

For their contribution to the German history competition Rebecca Swalve and Felicitas Mügge were awarded one of the regional prizes in Sachsen-Anhalt