Red Route
Are you interested in peace work and how wars can be ended? The Red Route takes you back to the 17th century and also through the frontlines of the two World Wars of the 20th century in Western Europe. You will discuss the importance of peace treaties and learn about different ways of commemorating the victims of conflict and tyranny. On this route you will also get a deep insight into the European Union, that wants to contribute to more peace in Europe.
This year’s dates:
21 July – 03 August 2023
MÜNSTER AND OSNABRÜCK
The Red Route starts in Münster, where participants get to know each other and exchange first insights in their perspective of European history in a preparatory workshop. You will also travel to Osnabrück, which is only a few kilometres away. Münster and Osnabrück were the cities where the two treaties of the Peace of Westphalia were concluded in 1648, ending the Thirty Years’ War. You will learn about these peace negotiations that brought one of the most brutal wars in European history to an end.
YSSELSTEYN
In the Dutch village of Ysselsteyn you will visit an extensive German war gravesite, where more than 30,000 war dead from both world wars are buried. You will learn about individual biographies and gain a better understanding of the fate of the dead buried there and the consequences of war and violence. An overnight stay at the youth meeting and education centre there gives you the opportunity to process these impressions.
Creator: Stella von Saldern
Creator: PEACE LINE
AMSTERDAM
From Ysselsteyn, the route takes you to Amsterdam. There you will discover how the Netherlands deals with its past during the Second World War. The National Holocaust Names Memorial, which was only erected in 2021, commemorates the approximately 102,000 Jewish victims and the 220 victims from the Roma population who were murdered by the National Socialists. You will explore this form of remembrance and visit a former Gestapo camp on your way to Brussels: Fort Breendonk.
BRUSSELS
The capital of Belgium is one of the centres of the European Union and you will learn about the work of this association of states. The programme includes a visit to the European Parliament, where MEPs shape the affairs of the European Union in numerous committees. On your way to Paris, you will make a stopover in Compiègne and learn about the armistices concluded there in both world wars, which significantly changed the 20th century.
Creator: PEACE LINE
Creator: PEACE LINE
PARIS
In the castle of Versailles you will learn about the peace treaties signed in 1919 that ended the First World War. For many visitors, the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles is just a glimpse into the lives of French nobles in the 17th century. For Germany in particular, however, the room is a significant place of remembrance, symbolic of both victory and defeat. In Paris, you will also visit monuments to the victims of the occupation of France by Nazi Germany.
VERDUN
In Verdun, you will come face to face with powerful reminders of trench warfare during World War I in the Lorraine region. Verdun became the symbol of the “Great War”, famous for the longest battle of this conflict. On the former battlefields, you will see the vast National Necropolis with its thousands of graves and visit the Douaumont Ossuary which contains the remains of more than 130,000 unidentified soldiers. You will also visit Fort Douaumont which was fiercely fought over during the Battle of Verdun and today shows the living conditions of its inhabitants.
Creator: PEACE LINE
Creator: Stella von Saldern
NIEDERBRONN-LES-BAINS
You’ll complete your journey with a concluding workshop at the International Youth Meeting and Education Centre in Niederbronn-les-Bains in the Alsace region of France. There, you’ll have plenty of time to reflect on everything you’ve experienced and to talk about it in the group.
The Red Route
The Red Route takes you on a journey through two centuries of European history. You will learn a lot about the difficult path to peace and the remembrance of the atrocities committed during the world wars.
For 14 days, you will travel this route together with about 30 young people from all over Europe. Most of the route will be covered by coach.
If you want to be part of the new Red Route and bring your own perspectives, come along on a journey through time.
Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, there may be changes to the route at short notice to accommodate changing legislation.
Become a peace ambassador
Learn together about the historical events of these places and about the different existing perspectives that show how the same events are told in different stories.