Children build their own Chemnitz

Jörg Theile & Ulrich Hertel

Next Monday, school-age children start their well-deserved summer holidays. Until 10 August, it's all about relaxing, unwinding, travelling and forgetting the school routine. A tip for all 6 to 16-year-olds for the summer holidays is a visit to the school camp in Küchwald. The "Auxilium" association is planning a children's town there with the active support of the kids. Ulrich Hertel, Chairman of the association, and Jörg Theile, Deputy Chairman of the association, tell us what's behind it in our Maker of the Week interview.

Can you describe what the children can expect from you and what the project is about?
Ulrich Hertel: The aim is to familiarise the children with the museum as a field of experience and at the same time to give them an insight into craftsmanship. They should learn or experience how you can create things with your own hands, how you have to try things out before they work and the whole thing is paired with the creation of structures. Both in managing themselves, in acting, and in protecting themselves, in the sense of protecting a city, a community, a settlement. These are the main contents. We start with the beginnings of Chemnitz, with the monastery. A very exciting story that we are looking forward to.
Jörg Theile: The children should be able to understand what it actually means to found and ultimately manage a city. It should really be their project and we will rely almost 100 per cent on the ingenuity and empathy of the children and young people while the project is being carried out. There are virtually no limits to their creativity.

How often has this project taken place so far?
Ulrich Hertel: It's a first for us.

So are you surprised by the response or do you already have any feedback?
Ulrich Hertel:That's not the only surprise in store for us. The feedback we have received so far for our plans is very good for now. We will be surprised to see how creative the children are and how willing they are to participate.

Do the children receive a daily evaluation from you? Or is there no right or wrong?
Ulrich Hertel: There are few "wrongs" and a lot of "rights". In terms of the daily evaluation, we don't do it at the end of the day, but rather at the beginning of the day as a review and at the same time as an outlook. We already plan a morning welcome ritual where we all come together, where tasks are roughly presented for which the children can and must organise themselves.

Where can the kids get in touch if they want to join in?
Jörg Theile: Either via our homepagewww.auxilium-chemnitz.de or www.kinderstadt-chemnitz.deor simply come directly to the school camp and join in.

You can also join spontaneously in between and don't have to be there from the start?
Ulrich Hertel: Exactly. We can't want to encourage creativity and then make strict attendance requirements. It should be a bit self-directed. The children have to be interested and those who are interested will come.

Apart from that, the children don't need to bring anything except interest?
Ulrich Hertel: Something for breakfast and some money for lunch. Admission is free.

The whole thing is financed by the European Social Fund and sponsors. "We also have a crowdfunding campaign with Volksbank Chemnitz, the link can be found on the homepage. The aim is to acquire equity capital through donations," explains Ulrich Hertel. "We are grateful for every euro. Because culture simply costs money." In return, if you donate the right amount, you become an honorary citizen of the Children's City. In addition to participants in the Children's Town, the organisation is also looking for people who are willing and able to take on a supervisory role on site. You can contact the organisation directly:auxilium.chemnitz(at)gmx.de

How did you actually come up with the idea of setting up a children's town?
Jörg Theile: The original idea was to make the Schlossberg Museum more lively for children and young people. We then looked around the museum and came up with the idea of a children's town relatively quickly. This was first organised in Munich in 1979.

Do the children need to catch up on local history?
Ulrich Hertel: Of course, it's obvious that a project like this should first be located in local history. I wouldn't attribute this to the fact that the children show less interest in local history, but rather less interest in history in general. But culture and history are simply interesting. Anchoring this in children's minds as early as possible should also be the aim.

How long did you plan to work on this?
Ulrich Hertel: Two and a half years! We sat down together, all the participants who work around the Schlossberg Museum, and thought about how we could make children and young people more aware of museums, culture and history again. We came up with various ideas. In the end, the children's city came out on top. Once the decision had been made, we only worked on this project. It took two and a half years, so that we are now ready to launch it for the first time. But this should not be a one-off. At best, a small core of children should crystallise this year, who will then plan and implement next year's projects together with us and the association.

The kids can then actively participate in the work of the association?
Ulrich Hertel: Exactly.

How did you come up with the idea of founding the "Auxilium" association in 2016?
Ulrich Hertel: We were simply so far along in our brainstorming process that the next step to move forward was to found an association. So it wasn't so much an idea, but ultimately the organisational form was clear from the outset - it was going to be an association. But you don't need to set up an association if you don't know why or for what purpose. Once we had agreed that it would be the Children's Town, it was practically the logical next step.

So the idea of the Children's Town came first?
Ulrich Hertel: Yes.

How many members does the association now have?
Jörg Theile:13 and we work on a voluntary basis.

Do you already have ideas about what else should be developed alongside the Children's Town or what else will be on offer?
Jörg Theile: There are plenty of ideas. In the end, we developed the whole thing in such a way that we said we would first see to it that we successfully realise the first Children's Town and then think publicly about other things.

Is history difficult for children to grasp?
Ulrich Hertel: In principle, every child is interested in different things. What they are ultimately interested in also has something to do with what is on offer. And that should be the aim of the Kinderstadt, to create an additional offer that the children can take up.

Where does your personal interest in history come from?
Ulrich Hertel: My father is extremely interested in history. So I was constantly exposed to it as a child.
Jörg Theile: I got involved with Chemnitz history through my contact with the Schlossberg Museum and realised that it really is a great story. That sparked my interest and I learnt a lot.
Ulrich Hertel: I also studied history in Chemnitz and my professors, namely Professor Pfeifer and Professor Kroll, gave me an extra boost. Both were and are naturally passionate about the subject.

Chemnitz wants to become the European Capital of Culture in seven years' time. What is your personal opinion on this project?
Ulrich Hertel: We would be delighted to be able to actively support the bid with our Kinderstadt project. Chemnitz definitely has what it takes to become the European Capital of Culture.
Jörg Theile:Through our project, we will do everything we can to support this. The city has simply made great progress. Even if we don't make it, the bid alone will move a lot in the city.
Ulrich Hertel: I also think that the application in itself is extremely positive.