My name is Corinna and I am a history student at Freie Universität in Berlin. In September 2019 I started a six-month internship in Edith Stein’s House as part of the Erasmus Program, which I completed in February 2020.
The Erasmus Program gives the opportunity to visit a university in another country, but also to gain experience in the form of an internship e.g. in a selected foreign non-governmental organization. This internship is financed under the Erasmus Program. I have chosen the Edith Stein Societ
Working in Edith Stein’s House, which is a museum, was a new experience for me, because until now I was only used to acquiring theoretical knowledge at the university. I was very interested in what it really means to “work in a museum”. I chose Edith Stein’s House as the place of my internship because I know Wroclaw, I also speak Polish and I knew that I could use my language skills here.
When I started my internship, the employees of the Edith Stein’s House – Maria, Ania and Marek greeted me with open arms, so from the beginning I enjoyed spending time with them.
From the beginning of my internship – especially in September and October – we worked intensively on organizing a new permanent exhibition, so I could observe the stages of its creation. What I knew only from textbooks or lectures, I could now observe in practice and participate in it. Apart from working on the exhibition I got to know the history of the house and Edith.
I enjoyed contact with visitors and groups. I was grateful to the staff of the House that they made it possible for me to guide tour groups by myself. I was giving tours in Polish, German and English. I had the opportunity to meet many amazing people from different countries and with different life stories.
My first months of internship consisted of working on archival documents and their translation and personal contact with visitors. In particular, I met and guided many people during the Taize European Youth Meeting. In January 2020 I was helping to organize the Day of Judaism in the Catholic Church in Edith Stein’s House and to prepare the open Shabbat in the White Stork Synagogue. On days when there were no cultural events, I worked on translating the website into German. Anna, who took care of me during the internship, always made sure that I felt good and had an interesting task. The family atmosphere in this unique house made me feel comfortable even though I missed my family and friends in Berlin.
Thanks to this internship I gained new practical experience and deepened my historical knowledge. I recommend everyone to benefit from the opportunity of participating in the Erasmus Program. In addition to the practical knowledge gained during the internship, I have learned a lot about myself. I enjoy living in another country, meeting new people and gaining new life and scientific experience.
I would like to thank all the employees of the Edith Stein House for the time spent together, I will never forget you.
Corinna Ambrozynski