Stefanie Loos

“Don’t focus on what divides you. Focus on what unites you.”

Margot Friedländer

Margot Friedländer
Academy

With the founding of the Margot Friedländer Academy, we are creating a sustainable framework for our educational work. The goal is to preserve Margot’s legacy and pass her messages on to younger generations. You will soon find our educational programs for young people, schools and teachers here.

The Margot Friedländer Academy ensures that our founder’s mission carries on:

Preserving Memory

Margot called on young people in particular to take on the role of eyewitnesses to Nazi crimes as “secondary witnesses” once she herself was no longer able to share her story and to actively champion democracy, freedom and humanity.

Warning Against Hate and Exclusion

Margot strongly emphasized the dangers of racism, antisemitism and xenophobia and called for these issues to be tackled as soon as they arose.

Strengthening Humanity and Responsibility

Margot appealed for respectful and compassionate coexistence, as well as a willingness to take responsibility for society.

Promoting Education and Awareness

Through her educational efforts, Margot raised awareness about the importance of democracy. Those who understand the mechanisms that lead to dictatorship, persecution and genocide can better defend the values of a free society.

Hope and Reconciliation in Action

Despite her personal experiences, Margot returned to Germany. She always emphasized that the younger generation bears no blame, but it does bear responsibility.

Margot Friedländer Fellows

Passing on Margot’s message to young people — that is the vision and mission of the Margot Friedländer fellows. At the academy, teacher trainees and other interested individuals are guided to become Margot Friedländer Fellows.

The training program follows the “secondary witness” approach, which involves storytelling based on personal life stories. Using Margot’s life and actions as an example, the program aims to help fellows develop an emotional understanding of the consequences of antisemitism, racism and exclusion.

During the week-long training program, participants learn to draw parallels to their own daily lives and to apply methods for courageously confronting exclusion in their communities. Margot serves as the role model for her stance, courage and dedication, including in her later years.

After completing their training, the fellows will actively engage with schools, organizing workshops or project days focused on Margot’s life. The training program for the first cohort of fellows, consisting of 20 participants, will take place in November 2026. All further information regarding the application process will be posted here in due course.

Avatar

One of Margot’s central concerns was how to pass on her firsthand experiences of the Holocaust and authoritarianism to future generations. That is why, while she was still alive and with her consent, we developed a digital twin that will make it possible to engage in dialogue with her via a website.

The avatar is based on a database of over 2,400 of Margot’s quotes and reproduces her statements authentically. Questions are matched with appropriate answers using artificial intelligence. This creates an interactive dialogue between Margot and future generations.

Building on this digital encounter, the initiative encourages a deeper exploration of contemporary antisemitism, racism and misanthropy. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to engage with artificial intelligence in a reflective manner and to strengthen media literacy in a school setting.

The avatar brings Margot into classrooms virtually and is available free of charge to students in the 9th grade and above. Teachers receive a comprehensive guide for use of the avatar in the classroom and can also sign up for online professional development.

The avatar is currently in a test phase, conducted by experts from Berlin’s Free University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Teaching Materials and Training Courses

Margot Friedländer tirelessly gave readings at schools from her biography, “Try to Make a Life for Yourself: Hidden in Berlin as a Jew,” which was first published in 2008. In it, she vividly traces her life’s journey, from a carefree childhood through her teenage years, which were increasingly marked by exclusion, to going into hiding after the deportation of her brother and mother, and finally to her own deportation to the Theresienstadt ghetto, an experience she barely survived. As the sole survivor of her immediate family, it was particularly important to Margot to convey to the students that they bear no guilt for the crimes of their ancestors but that they do have a responsibility to ensure that Nazi crimes are never repeated.

To carry on Margot’s life’s work, we are collaborating with the Holocaust Literature Research Unit at Justus Liebig University, Giessen, to develop teaching materials for incorporating Margot’s biography into lessons starting from the 9th grade.

The teaching materials are intended for use in all secondary schools and in all German federal states. In collaboration with Berlin’s Free University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, online professional development for teachers is being developed to provide guidance on the use of the biography and the avatar, Margot’s digital twin. The educational resources will be available starting early 2027.