Germans who opted for alternative civilian service once went to help vulnerable people in countries devastated by the Nazis, including Russia and Belarus. Then Moscow started a new war in Europe.

From 1990 through the 2000s, Germans traveled to Russia and several other countries to perform alternative civilian service. German women came too, but as volunteers. They worked in hospitals, residential facilities for people with mental and neurological disabilities, and other care homes, and helped older people in their homes. One motivation was to atone for their ancestors’ guilt during World War II, seek reconciliation with the peoples who had suffered under Nazi Germany, and do something u...