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"Zeitzeugen 1945 – The years of rubble in AR" is the follow-up project to the interactive app "WDR AR 1933-1945" for use in the classroom. Contemporary witnesses talk about their extreme hardships after the end of the war: hunger and cold, trauma and guilt, working as a "rubble woman", and the difficult return of their fathers from war and captivity.

The app has received the Educational Media Award (Pädagogischer Medienpreis) as well as the AVRIL 2025 award (silver) and has been nominated for the Prix Europa.

We welcome feedback at [email protected] and a rating.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Helga Cent-Velden was 18 when she had to clear ammunition and debris in Berlin. In the chapter "Rubble woman in Berlin”, she is virtually embedded in a 360° landscape of ruins.
In the chapter "The big freeze", Marianne Blasberg recalls the terrible winter of 1946/47 when it was so cold that the Rhine froze over. In the scene, even the tablet screen seems to freeze. The classroom is transformed into a cellar, its ceiling covered with icicles.
Alfred Grünewald, Anne Priller-Rauschenberg, and Ruth Barra appear in the chapter "Hunger and survival" after users walk through a portal that leads to an interactive room. Here the contemporary witnesses talk about being tormented by hunger, risking their lives while searching for something to eat and the all-consuming dream of sausage and bread.
In the chapter "War and trauma", Erich Waaser tells the story of his father, who, as a communist, was deported to the Börgermoor concentration camp by the Nazis and who, after the war, was left disillusioned by the denazification process. Marianne Blasberg’s father, a musician, also returned from the war traumatized.

THE APP IN SCHOOL LESSONS
In the app, teachers will find a package of teaching materials and worksheets for social studies. The app is suitable for inclusive learning groups. The core target group is secondary students in the 9th and 10th grades. The app cuts across subjects and can be adapted to different learning levels in a differentiated way.

IT’S EASY TO USE!
Pan your tablet or smartphone camera across the floor to scan it. Then aim at an empty space on the floor at least 2.5 meters away from you. A red circle appears. Once the circle is completely filled, the contemporary witnesses are automatically positioned. As they tell their stories, you can use look around the room and experience the stories.

FEATURES
• The WDR app "Zeitzeugen 1945" can be used offline. Once it has been downloaded, it can be used independently of network quality.
• It is easy to use and suitable for diverse learning groups.
• Contemporary witnesses and their biographies are an important part of the app.
• There is an info guide who adds facts to personal memories and puts them in their historical context.
• The WDR app "Zeitzeugen 1945 – The years of rubble in AR" is free of charge.

WHAT DOES AUGMENTED REALITY MEAN?
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that allows contemporary witnesses to be virtu