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 Room 28 - the room 28 in the Girls' Home L 410 in the Theresienstadt ghetto became a symbol and program for us. Despite all the misfortune, this place sends out a positive signal: the call to reflect on existential achievements, humanistic ideals and values and to fill concepts such as humanity, solidarity, art and spiritual resistance with life. The book The Girls of Room 28. Friendship, Hope and survival in Theresienstadt tells their story. The book, first published in 2004 (in the US in 2009) came back in a totally new German edition in June 2025.

 What happened in the microcosm of "Room 28" in the years 1942-1944 thanks to committed adults - educators, teachers, artists, what manifests itself through the survivors and the surviving testimonies, gives an idea of the elementary importance of cultural creation, artistic achievements and humanistic values and of the power that art and culture can develop in the struggle for self-assertion, for the assertion of one's own identity and dignity, in the worst of times.  This is why “Room 28” stands for a nucleus of humanity and why “Room 28” became a symbol and a program.

... is to preserve and further develop the multimedia and international Room 28 proejct of remembrance and educaiton, developed by Hannelore Brenner since 1996 and to pass on the legacy of the girls to younger generations. The basis for this is the book and exhibition “The Girls of Room 28” (2004) and the publications in the Edition Room 28 series, which began in 2014 with the publication of the authentic Theresienstadt diary of Helga Pollak, the heart and red thread of the book “The Girls of Room 28”. This was followed by further publications such as the autobiography of Evelina Merová or the Compendia (German, English, Czech) that provide an insight into the story and an overview of the project along with teaching material. 

Our mission can be fulfilled through the collaboration with schools, teachers and people active in the fields of education and arts who support our mission of passing on the legacy of the "Girls of Room 28" to young people and ensuring its future. 

The "Manifest" was written as part of our contribution to the "2021 commemorative year - 1700 years of Jewish life in Germany". It conveys some of the main concerns and goals of the project with the “Girls of Room 28” and of our association Room 28. You can read about our contribution on: Jüdische Identität.

The association started as a circle of friends of the “Girls of Room 28”. These girls are Holocaust survivors who were housed as young girls in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and ghetto, in Room 28 of the Czech Girls' Home L410. It is the  mission of our association to anchor their legacy in the world, to give this legacy a voice, a form and one day a permanent home, to convey it to younger generations and make it effective in the service of a better world. 

For us, this legacy has many facets. It encompasses the memory of the children of the Theresienstadt ghetto (1941–1945), those who cared for them, and all those who were murdered in the Holocaust. It also encompasses the memory of their works and of people who survived the Holocaust and were driven into exile. It involves researching, preserving and sharing their intellectual and artistic heritage.

The association's essential concern is to highlight the existential importance of cultural achievements and humanistic ideals for our personal lives and for our society. We promote intercultural dialogue through art, culture and education and  encourage political responsibility and democratic participation.

Insights into some outstanding events with the “Girls of Room 28” and related information can be found under the menu item "Documents". They underline the uniqueness of the international Room 28 remembrance and education project and make its international appeal tangible.

The association Room 28 e.V. was founded by a circle of friends on April 3, 2007 in Berlin and entered in the register of associations on August 14, 2007. AG Charlottenburg VR 26708 B

The statutory mission of our Association is achieved in particular by:

• Planning and realization of projects, events, seminars, symposia, publications, workshops in the fields of education;
• Events and projects in the fields of art and culture (e.g. exhibitions, readings, concerts, theater performances, workshops, master classes, competitions);
• Projects and events that promote international understanding: Projects on an international level, worldwide networking with congenial cultural actors, cultural exchange.  

From our Tax-Evaluation 20 December 2024

Our association promotes: “Art and culture, international sentiment, education,

tolerance in all areas of culture and the idea of international understanding.” It is  recognized as a charitable non-profit organization.