The Action Reconciliation Service for Peace is a German

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

organization founded to confront the legacy of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. The Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (German: Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste, or ASF) was founded in 1958 by the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...

, driven by the efforts of

Lothar Kreyssig Lothar Kreyssig (; 30 October 1898 – 6 July 1986) was a German judge during the Weimar and Nazi era. He was the only German judge who attempted to stop the mass-murder of persons deemed " unworthy of living" under the '' Aktion T4'' " involunt ...

. It was prompted by the acknowledgement of guilt that Germans needed to face at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Nazi era. The Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) is known especially through its international volunteer programs and the organisation of work camps in western and

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. Every year, ARSP sends approximately 180 volunteers to countries that suffered under the German occupation during World War II: Belgium, France,

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Greece,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Russia,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. They also work in Israel and the United States because many

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors fled or immigrated to these countries.

Objective

Excerpt from the by-laws of ARSP

§2 Purpose and operation :1. The organization is one whose goal, in taking up and furthering the Founding Manifesto of 1958, is reconciliation with those nations and peoples occupied by Nazi Germany or threatened with annihilation; and to develop the aptitude for peace. :2. It shall realize its tasks in particular through: ::a) short- and long-term voluntary service; ::b) seminars and other educational resources; ::c) promotion of scientific research whose purpose has themes of peace and reconciliation; ::d) help for victims of tyranny; ::e) promoting cooperation among all who are pursuing the same goals; ::f) informing the public about the objectives pursued by the organization.

History of the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace

Background

ARSP developed out of the actions of the

to reject Nazism and resist the Nazi regime. The founder of ARSP, Judge

, was one of the determined resisters within the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (, ) was a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. See dro ...

. After the war, he made this refusal by a branch of the Protestant church a subject of discussion and, along with like-minded people, such as

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s, and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confes ...

Gustav Heinemann Gustav Walter Heinemann (; 23 July 1899 – 7 July 1976) was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Mini ...

and later, Franz von Hammerstein, called for repentance and reversal of harm.

Appeal for the Action for Reconciliation

Lothar Kreyssig tried to find fellow campaigners for his reconciliation service for the first time on '' Kirchentag'' 1954, in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. The appeal found few ears. "That something is right and necessary, is not enough to see it materialize in time and space. The hour must be ripe," he later wrote in his unpublished autobiography. The

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the

convened from 26 to 30 April 1958, alternating in

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

, in West Berlin) and Weißensee in East Berlin. At this point, the synod still involved the entire Evangelical Church in Germany, both east and west. There was a controversy that year over the west German

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

cy contract and possible nuclear armament by the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

. This was the troubled atmosphere in which

Praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...

Kreyssig, on the last day of the Synod, read his appeal to found the Action for Reconciliation. Numerous attendees signed the appeal that evening. The appeal not only expressed an admission of guilt, it also delineated concrete consequences. The Action for Reconciliation would not offer assistance, rather, would ask to help. This humble attitude was a rejection of any patronizing functionalization of the reconciliation thought process. The attitude was to signal the readiness to get involved — that is, to learn by doing and through dialogue — because the appeal relied on conversation, response and new action.Appeal by Lothar Kreyssig
English translation of Kreyssig's 1958 appeal for German atonement for Nazi crimes. Retrieved March 12, 2010 The Action for Reconciliation was initially founded as a Germany-wide organization, but the division of Germany made a joint effort impossible. The two German states therefore had two organizations with a common goal, albeit different emphasis in practice. Kreyssig wollte seine Gründung "Aktion Versöhnungszeichen" nennen. Auf Anraten des Leiters der Evangelischen Akademie Berlin Erich Müller-Gangloff hieß sie dann aber "Aktion Sühnezeichen", weil "Versöhnung erst die Frucht der Bereitschaft zur Sühne und zur Vergebung sei" (K.Weiß: Lothar Kreyssig Prophet der Versöhnung, 1998, S.336) Unter diesem Namen wurde in Berlin, Jebenstr. 1 neben dem Konsistorium der EKU, deren Präses Kreyssig war, das Büro der Aktion eingerichtet. (G.Kammerer: Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste, 2008, S.38). Lothar Kreyssig war ihr Leiter bis zum Mauerbau 1961. Danach war die Verwaltung der EKU-Ost und das Büro von Sühnezeichen-Ost im Grüberhaus in der Bischofstraße 6-8, neben der Marienkirche(K.Weiß, a.a.O. S.374). In Westberlin und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wurde Sühnezeichen seit 1961 von Erich Müller-Gangloff und Franz v. Hammerstein geleitet.(G.Kammerer, a.a.O. S.101).Die Arbeit der Sommerlager in der DDR geschah unter dem Dach des Diakonischen Werks.(G.Kammerer, a.a.O. S.102) Mit der Vereinsgründung für die Bundesrepublik 1968 wurde auch der Name geändert in "Aktion Sühnezeichen-Friedensdienste".. In der DDR blieb der Name "Aktion Sühnezeichen" bis zur Vereinigung der beiden Hälften zu einem Verein erhalten. Ab 1.Mai 1991 galt dann nur noch der Name "Aktion Sühnezeichen-Friedensdienste"(G.Kammerer, a.a.O. S.109; S.222-226) .

ARSP in western Germany

Die Aktion Sühnezeichen began its work in 1959 with construction projects in the Netherlands and Norway and later, with projects in other countries. Volunteers helped build a synagoge in

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France ...

and the Church of Reconciliation in

Taizé, Saône-et-Loire Taizé () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The commune lies northwest of Mâcon, the capital of Saône-et-Loire, and north of the town of Cluny. Pilgrimage site The ...

, in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, France. They helped build a kindergarten in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

in the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, helped install a water irrigation system on

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, and helped create an international symbol of reconciliation from the ruins of

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Work in Israel began in 1961, after the Adolf Eichmann trial was concluded. From the mid-1960s, the projects slowly changed. There was ever less construction work, but new projects emerged for memorials, for work with the elderly, and social work. By the 1980s, with

fading into the past, there were additional projects working with

minority groups The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

ASZ in eastern Germany

Die DDR-Regierung verhinderte von Anfang an die Aussendung ostdeutscher Freiwlliger. The

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(GDR) considered itself to be an anti-fascist state, it did not consider itself responsible for the consequences of German fascism. Therefore, the projects of the ASZ were initially limited to the GDR. In 1965 and 1966, volunteers were still able to travel with Catholic chaplains from

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

Majdanek Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had three gas chambers, two wooden gallows, ...

Stutthof Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-an ...

Groß-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

and Breslau. By 1967 and 1968, further trips to memorial sites in

and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

were not permitted, despite invitations being sent to the state visa refusal. With the introduction in 1972 of visa-free travel between the GDR and Poland and Czechoslovakia, young German were able to take part in summer camps in Poland. By then, Polish and Czech young people were also embarking on missions in the GDR. From this time on, reconciliation groups were involved in the preservation and restoration of Jewish cemeteries in almost every region of the GDR. The first group to work at

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

was in 1979. Starting in 1981, the number of summer camps expanded to include Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, and Nordhausen-Dora. From 1962 till 1992, over 12,000 volunteers took part in the summer camps from ASZ.

Reunification

After

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

, the two eastern and western organizations merged, retaining their different forms of voluntary service, the long-term service of the ARSP and the short-term service and summer camps of the ASZ. Like the

European Voluntary Service The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), known until 2016 as European Voluntary Service (EVS), is an international volunteering program by the European Commission for young people to go individually or in teams to another country, usually from one Eur ...

, since the late 1990s, the ARSP has increased the number of project sites to respond to changing need and new opportunities.

Current ARSP projects

Long-term voluntary service

At present, ARSP sends out about 180 young people per year to work on projects, primarily in countries that suffered directly from the Nazis, but also ones that have large numbers of Holocaust survivors. Belgium, Greece, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Israel, Ukraine, America and Belarus all have ARSP voluntary projects. The volunteers are predominantly young, between the ages of 18 and 27.

Conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

s can fulfill their required civil service under the auspices of ARSP. Volunteers support and accompany survivors of the Holocaust and their descendants, work at memorial sites, take care of older people, those with disabilities, the disadvantaged and refugees, and get involved in neighborhood projects and anti-racism initiatives. ARSP volunteers helped create an international center of reconciliation in the ruins of

. In Israel, volunteers have worked in historical or political education and at the national memorial site,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and in projects with Jewish and Arab citizens, working toward mutual understanding. ARSP first sent volunteers to Norway and the Netherlands in 1959 to work on construction projects. More recently, volunteers in the Netherlands work in historical or political education, for example, at the

Joods Historisch Museum The (; ), part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, is a museum in Amsterdam dedicated to Jewish history, culture and religion, in the Netherlands and worldwide. It is the only museum in the Netherlands dedicated to Jewish history. History The Jood ...

o
Anne Frank Foundation
Volunteers in Poland work in societies for former

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

prisoners and at concentration camps sites,

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and

near

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

. For political reasons, ARSP first sent volunteers to Russia in 1990, and the Czech Republic in 1993. In Russia, they work at veterans' hospitals and the Russian human rights organization,

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

. In the Czech Republic, they work with the Jewish community in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and at the memorial site

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. Volunteers to Ukraine work with former forced laborers. ARSP has 24 volunteer positions in the United States. They work with Holocaust survivors or in offices at the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

Washington, DC and the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

in New York and Washington.Ruth Rovner (February/March 1998)
"Emissaries of Good Will — Young Germans Participate in a Unique Project"
, ''German Life''. Retrieved March 15, 2010. Since 1996, about 15-20 requests per year have come from partner programs in other countries from young people seeking voluntary peace service in Germany, as well.

Peace Service in Germany

After partner organizations abroad suggested a voluntary service programme in Germany in the 1980s, since 1996 15 to 20 volunteers from the US, Israel and different European countries are annually hosted in Germany for a longterm voluntary service.

Short- and medium-term voluntary service

Each year, about 300 people take part in summer camps, where they live and work together in about 25 camps in Germany and other countries. All summer camps are run by unsalaried employees, often former long-term volunteers who want to pass along their own experience. During the two- to three-week stay, volunteers learn about current and historical issues and are involved in projects, such as performing upkeep at Jewish cemeteries and memorial sites. They also work in social services and with intercultural projects.

Public relations and education

Many ARSP alumni are in regional groups and maintain connections, continuing to volunteer even after their initial voluntary period ends. With the implementation of long- and short-term voluntary service, more unsalaried positions are created, filled by these alumni. Some also contribute to public relations and education efforts. Four times a year, ARSP publishes ''Zeichen'' (''Signs''), a magazine (in German) that reports on the current work of volunteers and project partners. Each issue is centered around a different theme. It publishes ''Predigthilfen & Materiellen für die Gemeinde'' (''Sermon aids and materials for the congregation'') three times a year, on the occasion of "Israel Sunday," (a memorial day in the

Evangelical church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

); for a ten-day period in November, called the ''Ökumenische Friedensdekade'' ("Ecumenical Decade of Peace"); and for

International Holocaust Remembrance Day The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is an list of minor secular observances#January, international memorial day on 27 January that memorialization, commemorates Holoca ...

. With these, ARSP wants to convey theological insights from the Jewish-Christian dialogue and the dialogue with Islam into the religious community. In addition, ARSP wants to weigh in on current political themes, thereby joining the inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and presenting its position against anti-semitism, right-wing extremism and racism and strongly advocating for compensation to those persecuted by the Nazis; and for a just peace.

Educational work

ARSP endeavors to stimulate societal debateon the themes of the politics of memory, national identities and inter-religious dialogue with events, workshops, seminars and congresses. ARSP contributes as founder, sponsor or cooperative partner to the following: * International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim/Auschwitz.
Beit Ben Yehuda
International Meeting Center and Guest House in

.
Foyer le Pont in Paris
Meeting center in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Awards

* Buber- Rosenzweig Medal, 1993 * Marion Samuel Prize, 2001 *

Hans Ehrenberg Hans Philipp Ehrenberg (; 4 June 1883 – 21 March 1958) was a German Jewish philosopher and theologian. One of the co-founders of the Confessing Church, he was forced to emigrate to England because of his Jewish ancestry and his opposition to N ...

Prize, 2006

Memberships

* in Germany: ''Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden'' ("Communal Action Service for Freedom") * in the USA: Council of Religious Volunteer Agencies, (CRVA)

Notable former ARSP volunteers

* Christoph Heubner, German author and executive vice-president of the

International Auschwitz Committee The International Auschwitz Committee was formed by survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz death camp in 1952 for the support of the survivors and to fight racism and anti-Semitism. The committee's mission was to maintain contac ...

* Thomas Lutz, manager of Topography of Terror Foundation,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

; former Fellow,

Andreas Maislinger Andreas Maislinger (born 26 February 1955 in Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg, St. Georgen near Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian political scientist and wiktionary:Founder, founder and former chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad. He also is the fou ...

, Austrian historian and political scientist, founder of the

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service ''Gedenkdienst'' is a concept in Austria aimed at young people to face and take responsibility for the darkest chapters of the country's history while being financially supported by Austrian government. Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas M ...

Thomas Oppermann Thomas Ludwig Albert Oppermann (27 April 195425 October 2020) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). From October 2017 until his death he served as Vice President of the Bundestag. In his earlier career, he serv ...

, German politician, member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

, (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

) * Joachim Schlör, Professor of Modern Jewish/non-Jewish Relations and head of the Parkes Institute,

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

Robert Thalheim Robert Thalheim (born July 2, 1974, in Berlin) is a German stage and film director and screenwriter. Thalheim was an assistant director at the ''Berlin Ensemble, Berliner Ensemble'' in 1997–98. He then studied modern German literature, history a ...

, German director and screenwriter, ''

And Along Come Tourists ''And Along Come Tourists'' (German: ''Am Ende kommen Touristen'') is a 2007 German drama film that was written and directed by Robert Thalheim. The principal characters are a young German doing civilian service at the former German Auschwitz con ...

References

External links

Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP)
Official German website. Retrieved March 10, 2010

Official website. Retrieved
Stowarzyszenie ASF w Polsce ( ASF Poland)
Official website (as of March 12, 2010) *
Action Reconciliation Service for Peace
(website for U.S. office and activities) (retrieved January 28, 2023) {{DEFAULTSORT:Action Reconciliation Service For Peace (Arsp) Peace organisations based in Germany Holocaust commemoration Student exchange Lutheran organizations 1958 establishments in Germany Germany friendship associations