Heritage

64 heritage for peace and reconciliation | manual for teacherContentstlTeaching limitationBecoming acquainted with the human story behind the underwater cultural heritagefrom the World Wars requires the active involvement of students. They must learnto put themselves in another person’s place. In doing so, they can make comparisonsto themselves and their way of life. However, this is useful only to the extent thatstudents do not completely identify with the other person. While putting themselvesin another person’s place, they should remain themselves, while the other remains theother. Students must recognize that people have different values, interpretations andbeliefs. They must recognize that differing perspectives are both normal and meaningful.to Teaching optionThe First World War is often viewed as a multinational conflict between large andpowerful states. However, the Great War was also an era characterized by an unprecedentedblend of diverse cultures and beliefs. Citizens and soldiers from distant colonies,forced labourers, refugees and displaced people; for many, the conflict representedmore than just a radical change of surroundings, but also a confrontation withother social and cultural practices. The First World War is rarely approached fromthis perspective. Nevertheless, it offers countless exciting educational questions. Whatform did these contacts between people of different origins take? Were these encountersembedded within a logic of war, or did they transcend the war? How were theencounters experienced by the people of the time? What remained of these contactsafter the war? For example, look at the wrecks of the Mendi and the Athos. From whichcountries did their passengers come?tt Teaching tipIn many countries, the commemoration of the First World War will receive a considerableamount of attention. In addition to commemorating the victims, we shoulduse this moment to demonstrate the importance of peace and democracy. Whetherwe want it to be so or not, war and peace form part of a nation’s identity. New citizensand immigrants are thus also eager to be involved in this national past. However, thisdoes not necessarily happen, as a country’s own war history has both similarities toand differences from those of the home countries of new inhabitants. The experiencesof the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of native people are not alwaysthe same as those of immigrants. The major role that we ascribe to the First World Waris therefore not shared to the same extent in all countries and all population groups.