An interactive workshop for children aged 10 and up

The Exilmuseum offers the workshop “Wurzeln im Wind - Refugee stories from the Nazi era” for school classes between grades 5 and 7. The workshops are free and last 5 hours. You can find the list of available dates here. Please email us under schule@ephra.de to register.

What does it mean to leave everything behind? How does it feel to arrive in a foreign country – without friends and family, without any language skills and without your beloved toys? The project “Wurzeln im Wind” is a collaboration between Ephra and the Exilmuseum Berlin. Using the biographies of persecuted individuals who were able to flee during the Nazi era, the workshop conveys feelings of loss, hope, and new beginnings to children – and asks: What gives you stability when everything familiar has disappeared? Today, these questions are frighteningly relevant, and for many of the participating children, these are not just ideas and concepts – they are their lived experience. 

The Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin invited Ephra to develop an interactive workshop for children. Ephra is a Berlin-based non-profit organization that has been developing innovative educational projects combining remembrance culture, art and participatory history education since 2012. Founded by artist Rebecca Raue, Ephra opens up dialogue spaces for children and young people. Ephra uses creative methods to address complex social issues such as refuge and exile, persecution and anti-Semitism with children and young people. Exploring the stories of people who had to flee Germany, their individual biographies and their experiences in exile, creates a space that incorporates current realities: Today, people are seeking exile in Germany. What does it take to make a successful arrival? 

The title “Wurzeln im Wind” uses the image of a tree caught in a storm. Roots represent origin, family, language and everything else that provides stability. The wind tears the roots from the earth and represents displacement, terror and alienation. The workshop encourages children to actively create, think and feel. The workshop is divided into three stations – LEAVING, ON THE ROAD and ARRIVING / FINDING A HOME – workshop participants collect information about a person, like on a scavenger hunt. They write, draw and glue.

The focus is always on the children themselves and on the people who were able to flee and their individual life stories. „Wurzeln im Wind“ is an artistic educational format that transforms the Werkstatt Exilmuseum into an extraordinary and special place for extracurricular learning. 

Why is this project valuable? We make history tangible. Ephra conveys refugee stories not as an abstract concept, but as a personal fate. The educational workshop program is designed for school classes from grade 5 to 7. From May 2026 until July 2026, 5 hour long workshops, including lunch, will take place on selected dates, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Participation is free of charge.