Luxembourg presented a new manual on the Second World War

On 11 June 2025, the Minister of Education, Childhood and Youth, Claude Meisch, visited the Hueflach primary school in Strassen, where the new textbook "Op eemol war alles anescht: Op de Spuere vum Zweete Weltkrich" - translated: "Suddenly everything was different: in the footsteps of the Second World War" - was officially presented.

The main characters of the manual, Jeanne, Rosa, Kurt and Charles, are ordinary eight-year-old children whose lives suddenly change with the beginning of the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg. The story tells how the invasion and repression affects their friendship, family and everyday reality. The authors' idea is to show children today that war and dictatorship have concrete, personal consequences.

The approach is unique in that the book's characters are the same age as the target audience: pupils of the 4th cycle of primary school. This allows us to better empathise with the characters and reflect on the most important values - freedom, peace, memory and civic responsibility.

Each section of the manual concludes with practical tasks that encourage discussion and personal reflection. The pedagogical intent is not based on a dry retelling of events, but on lively interaction - taking into account children's perceptions and the contemporary context.

The publication was developed in partnership between the Committee for the Commemoration of the Second World War (CM2GM) and the Centre for Political Education (Zentrum fir politesch Bildung, ZpB). It is already available in all primary schools for the fourth cycle - and it is not only a printed version, but also a digital version available for download, making the tool flexible and up-to-date.

The manual has been translated into Luxembourgish, French, German and English, underlining the commitment to wide accessibility and intercultural dialogue in the educational environment.