The Kreisau Circle with von Moltke and von Wartenberg envisioned a Europe without borders, free of racial and religious discrimination. This is the Europe that young people living together and attending seminars in today’s New Kreisau experience throughout their visits.

The former estate of the von Moltke family today houses an International Youth Meeting Center, the Historic Site and the European Academy in a fully renovated facility.

Young people from all over Europe come together in Krzyżowa (former Kreisau) every year to discuss European and global questions and learn to take responsibility for the futures of their communities, countries and the world!

Krzyżowa/Kreisau annually accommodates more than 10,000 participants of all ages from Poland, Germany, and other European and non-European countries, half of them participating in 100-120 programs for more than one day. Others visit the New Kreisau and its historical site.

Some Kreisau projects include:
• Polish-German Youth Exchange
• International youth meetings
• Various student seminars with historical and current subjects
• Meetings for teenagers with disabilities
• Art seminars and workshops
• Teacher training workshops
• History conferences
• Study excursions
• Seminars for the memorial site

A calendar of Kreisau events can be found on the homepage of the Polish Krzyżowa Foundation for European Understanding, the owner and operator of the New Kreisau.

A permanent exhibition conceived by the East-German reformer Ludwig Mehlhorn together with his Polish partner Katarzyna Madon-Mitzner from Warsaw is shown in the Schloss (manor house). Entitled “Living in honesty” it informs about European resistance in dictatorships in the 20th century. The Berghaus with its special library of resistance literature offers an opportunity for longer periods of undisturbed study. Students working on topics in resistance history can stay at the Berghaus for up to three months.

The youth center is the core of activities in today’s New Kreisau, bringing together young people from different countries for several days at a time, organizing student exchanges, conferences, and filling summers with artistic expression and instruction. Under the guidance of international teachers the young guests learn about the cultural traditions of different countries, find out about their common history - particularly resistance to dictatorships in the East and West - and debate current European and global issues. They play sports, develop their creativity and simply have fun together. Friendships are formed that transcend national borders, improving understanding within Europe.

▲

The "Historic Site" has its center in the Berghaus, where the von Moltkes lived and where the Kreisau Circle actually met in 1942 and 1943. Here resistance and opposition to the dictatorships of the 20th century are the main topic, especially the Kreisau Circle and the resistance movements against communist dictatorships in the eastern European countries. The goal is to develop in the participants an understanding of how ideological barriers can destroy a relationship and to prepare them for work and cooperation with others coming from different backgrounds. They learn to see how dictatorships - and even populist parties in democracies - can create historical mythologies and use them for their purposes.

▲

Adults are also welcome in the New Kreisau. Financed by a private donation, a former barn has become a comfortable guesthouse with 45 beds in single and double rooms for adult guests. Seminars, workshops, exhibitions, gatherings for special topics and cultural events are offered. Here, citizens of East European countries who have lived in the dictatorships of the 20th century can learn more about participatory democracy. Guests come from Poland, from states such as Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine and from farther abroad, such as from the United States, Australia, Israel and Turkey. All of whom have expressed their gratitude for these exchanges.

▲