Centropa: Welcoming a Long-Time Collaborator to AEPJ!
The European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ) is proud to welcome Centropa to its ever-expanding network.
This welcome builds on an already well-established collaboration: AEPJ and Centropa have been working together for several years within the framework of MiDorLeDor, a project dedicated to intergenerational dialogue, memory transmission and education around Jewish heritage in Europe. Formalising this relationship within AEPJ is therefore both a natural step and an opportunity to further strengthen our shared work.
Centropa: preserving memory through people and stories
Centropa was founded in 2000 as a non-profit historical institute dedicated to preserving Jewish memory through personal stories, family photographs and educational resources. 1,200 elderly Jews in Central and Eastern Europe have already shared their life stories and family photos with them. Through their online database, short multimedia films, travelling exhibitions, student competitions, training seminars for teachers as well as young people, Centropa connects Europeans to 20th century European-Jewish history and with each other.
iMemory: a youth project for digital and public memory
Among Centropa’s current initiatives is iMemory, a youth-oriented digital project that brings Jewish memory into public space through an app with augmented reality features, building on the foundations of the MemoryLanes project.
Designed primarily for young people, educators, and cultural practitioners, iMemory allows users to follow self-guided heritage routes, transforming cities into open classrooms. Through the app, participants can explore Jewish history on site — for example in Berlin — discovering stories, places, and historical layers at their own pace, or engaging with other curated content available through the platform.
The app can be downloaded on:
Google Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.historyapp.memorylanes
Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/memorylanes/id6463789634?l=en-GB
Preserving Jewish Cemeteries: an enduring resource
Centropa has also led important heritage initiatives such as Preserving Jewish Cemeteries, a project completed several years ago but whose impact continues today. Beyond the project’s lifetime, Centropa maintains a database and a set of resources that remain publicly available and highly valuable for heritage professionals, educators, municipalities and anyone involved in the care and documentation of Jewish cemeteries.
We encourage our community to explore these materials and make use of the knowledge and tools they offer.
Looking ahead
Welcoming Centropa to the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage reflects a shared commitment to education, memory, and innovative approaches to Jewish heritage across Europe. We look forward to continuing and expanding our collaboration, and to sharing Centropa’s work with the wider AEPJ community.
