Warm Home Project

Our “Warm Home” project aims at survivors of Nazi persecution with a migrant background, in particular Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The idea behind the project is simple: Persons of the same cultural and linguistic background come together in private appartments. These get-togethers in a casual and safe environment offer them the opportunity to exchange ideas, make friends and cope with the past together.

The project is to help integrate the immigrants, prevent isolation in age and strengthen social cohesion within this cultural group.

Since 2009, people from different parts of the former Soviet Union come together in private homes on a regular basis in the Cologne districts of Chorweiler and Porz. These get-togethers have given rise to warm acquaintances and friendships. Apart from meeting on a regular basis, the participants support each other with everyday problems and go on activities together. In early 2016, the Federal Association extended the project to include further cities in North-Rhine Westfalia. Today, there are “warm homes” in Essen, Dusseldorf, Ratingen, Dortmund and Münster.