Spaces of Memory of Flight: Visualizing Scenes from Flight Stories of the Nazi Era and Today Using VR Technology

The future meets the past - and something new is created: In our virtual reality project, young people meet survivors of the Nazi era in person, learn about their biographies, and gain important knowledge about Germany’s National Socialist past and its consequences. Based on these life stories, participants develop key scenes and create their own artistic models, which are then transferred into virtual reality.

Under journalistic guidance, participants conduct interviews with the contemporary witnesses, identify significant scenes, research historical archival materials, and gain an understanding of the family and life contexts of the time. In addition, a safe space is provided where participants can reflect on their own family and flight histories, explore other life experiences, and broaden their perspective by drawing parallels. Together, they discuss socially relevant issues such as exclusion, discrimination, and xenophobia.

The young participants independently work on the stories of the contemporary witnesses by artistically interpreting and reconstructing selected scenes using self-built dioramas. These dioramas depict impactful everyday and flight-related experiences from the lives of the former victims of National Socialism.

The art models are then scanned and transferred into virtual reality (VR) using specialized software. Further refinements take place in the digital space. Alongside historical learning, participants acquire new technical skills that enable them to confidently work with innovative technologies.

Using VR headsets allows for an immersive engagement with the scenes. This intense visual experience is complemented by audio recordings of the survivors’ testimonies.

The results of the project are regularly presented in public spaces and are guided by both the survivors and the participants. During Museum Night 2024, the exhibition was already displayed at the NS Documentation Center Cologne.

By combining digital and analog formats and involving contemporary witnesses, the project provides an innovative historical approach that strengthens young people’s understanding of democratic values and encourages personal reflection. The integration of VR technology offers new, emotionally engaging ways of experiencing history, supported by supervision and scholarly contextualization.

If you have access to a VR headset (such as a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest 3), we would be happy to provide you with the VR worlds from our completed projects as APK files.