In the past month, the Museum of the Nazi POW Camp Stalag XVIII D was visited by more than 250 students from various secondary schools in Maribor, specifically from the First Grammar School Maribor, the Secondary School of Economics and Grammar School Maribor, and the Secondary School for Hospitality and Tourism Maribor.
With the students from the Secondary School of Economics Maribor, who visited our museum as part of the mandatory elective subject Active Citizenship—whose core aim is to encourage active, informed, and responsible democratic citizenship—we held a discussion club after the museum tour. We talked about human rights and peace, the Geneva Convention, POW camps and the differences between them, and the horrific fate of Soviet prisoners of war in Nazi camps.
Preserving historical truth is extremely important for ethical, social, political, and educational reasons.
Between 1941 and 1945, around 3 to 3.5 million Soviet prisoners of war out of approximately 5.7 million captured by the Germans were killed or died due to inhumane conditions. This means that more than half of all Soviet POWs perished—one of the highest death rates among all prisoners of war during the war. It is estimated that around 5,000 died in Stalag XVIII D due to starvation, cold, disease, forced labor, as well as shootings and systematic executions.
Both students and teachers shared their thoughts and feelings in statements that we compiled into a short video.
“Preserving historical truth is not just the task of historians—it is a moral duty of all who believe in truth, justice, and humanity.”
