Exhibition opening: ‘… we resisted as best we could.’

This exhibition focuses on the life stories and acts of resistance of sixteen women imprisoned at Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, who used the limited scope for action available to them to oppose the Nazi regime.

The exhibition will be on display from 24 September 2026 to 4 April 2027 in the special exhibition area on the first floor of the German Resistance Memorial Centre.

OPENING RECEPTION

Please register by 22 September 2026 by email: veranstaltung@gdw-berlin.de

PROGRAMME

Welcome

Dr Julia Spohr, Director of the German Resistance Memorial Foundation

Opening address

Dr Robin Mishra, Head of the History and Remembrance Department at the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media

Resistance in Ravensbrück

Dr Andrea Genest, Director of the Ravensbrück Memorial Site

Introduction to the exhibition

Dr Stefanie Steinbach, Curator and Research Associate at the German Resistance Memorial Centre

Afterwards, you are invited to a small reception and to visit the exhibition on the first floor of the German Resistance Memorial Centre.

About the exhibition:

Despite the risk of death, malnutrition and constant surveillance, resistance was still possible even within concentration camps. However, the forms of resistance under the extreme conditions in the concentration camps differed from those outside the camps. Resistance often manifested itself in everyday acts of self-assertion, such as maintaining religious rituals or engaging in shared cultural activities.

Despite the threat of severe punishment, some women dared to sabotage forced labour in the arms industry, refuse orders or smuggle documents out of the camp in order to bear witness to the crimes of the SS.

Curator-led tours are also available:

• Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 4.00 pm
• Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 4.00 pm
• Tuesday, 17 November 2026, 4.00 pm

Please register by email by the day before each tour: veranstaltung@gdw-berlin.de.