From the Resistance to forced labor in Schönefeld
The exhibition focuses on the biography of Hélène Fauriat (1918–1999), a member of the French Resistance. In June 1944, she was arrested by the Gestapo for her resistance against the German occupation and deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. After two weeks, she was transferred to the Henschel-Werke subcamp in Schönefeld and forced to work in the fighter plane factory.
Image gallery
Großflächige Einladungsgrafik mit einem Rastermuster im Hintergrund. Links oben steht in orangefarbenen Großbuchstaben: 'VON DER RÉSISTANCE ZUR ZWANGSARBEIT IN SCHÖNEFELD'. Darunter, in sehr großen dunkelblauen Großbuchstaben, der Name 'HÉLÈNE FAURIA
The exhibition is based primarily on her memoir, "Noël à Schönefeld" (Christmas in Schönefeld). In it, Hélène Fauriat shares her personal experiences of persecution, imprisonment, and forced labor during the Nazi era.
The exhibition was developed as part of a basic French course. The students researched the story of the French resistance fighter Hélène Fauriat. The project was initiated by the construction of a new school on the site of a former forced labor camp belonging to Henschel Flugzeug-Werke AG in Schönefeld near Berlin. Archaeological excavations took place on the site in 2023/24.
