The Erasmus+ School Partnership from Germany, Italy, Norway and Portugal intends to analyse the theme “Heroes”.

Considering the fact that today's schools deal with students from many backgrounds and with a great cultural diversity, the question of how an individual can integrate into society and what to expect from it is treated differently, as well as the question of what society can expect and the needs of individuals. Thus, the theme of the project can combine all these issues in an exemplary way. The starting point, for all schools, is the novel “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zsusak, which is set in a fictional little town in Bavaria, the project’s basis for finding out about how the Third Reich (including heroes during that time) has been perceived and portrayed in literature.

Throughout the project, the concept of “Hero” will be explored by promoting researching, reading and writing. Starting from fictional characters presented in novels about the time of the Nazi Regime, students will go further into modern national literature, always resorting to historical and current research, dealing with the analysis of Local and / or National Heroes, Day-to-Day Heroes and Anti-Heroes. Thus, to accomplish the project objectives there will be five Transnational Learning Activities, one for teachers (C1) with a 4-days duration and four for students (C2 to C4) with a 5-days duration.

• C1- “Heroes Workshop” to take place at the coordinating-school in Baldham, Germany
• C2- “National Heroes in Portuguese History” to be hosted in Mafra, Portugal
• C3- “National Heroes in Norwegian History” to be hosted in Porsgrunn, Norway
• C4- “National Heroes in Italian History” to be hosted in Genova, Italy
• C5- “National Heroes in German History” to be hosted in Germany

When visiting the partner schools, the students will share and discuss their “Hero” findings. Putting their fingers on nationalistic characteristics, students will, furthermore, set out to find out whether these characteristics are the same in other European countries. So, as part of the meeting activities in each country, the German students can prepare a guided tour through Munich with reference to life there from 1930 to 1950 and the aftermaths of having to come to terms with the Third Reich later. This can include visits to cemeteries of working camp victims and a trip to the Concentration Camp in Dachau as well as the new NS Documentary Centre in Munich and the exhibition on the heroes of the White Rose at the LMU. On the other hand, in Portugal, students may visit the historical prison at the Fort of Peniche, while on the outskirts of Oslo, the working camps for prisoners can be at the basis of a visit to find out about life during German occupation. And in Genova, one of the few cities that was handed back from German occupation without a fight, students will find another point of view of life and its hardships during those difficult times and its specific heroes.

The goal of the project is to improve the teaching-learning process in each school and to make young Europeans aware of the values we all share, regardless of the country in which we live or where we came from and also of differences in perception, of dealing with history and above all, with a focus on how the national role during the period from 1930 to 1950 is promoted and / or taught and to encourage them to act “heroically” when the situation requires them to do so. Each student will be able to bring their new experiences into the classroom, take them home and share them with the rest of the Class, the School, the Community and the Partners, promoting the need to look across borders and not be limited by them.