A TIME FOR RECONCILIATION
by Alfred Jenner - RAF ex-POW
The small north German town of Barth
up on the Baltic coast would seem an unlikely place in which to
experience a remarkable manifestation of reconciliation between old
enemies. Yet that was true of the occasion on September the 8th this
year, when men who were hating, hurting and killing sixty years
ago were now greeting one another in the spirit of true friendship, warm
handshakes for the men, hugs and kisses for the women and children.
This extraordinary transformation has been
brought about by a small group of German men and women belonging to the Association for Documentation and Dialogue at Barth
who, above
all, seek the unvarnished truth about man's inhumanity to man during the
1939-45 war. They aim to initiate and support research and educational
work into the local history of National Socialism (Nazism), the Second
World War and consequent injustice between 1945 and 1989.
One focus of that quest by is the site just
outside the town of the memorial to Stalag Luft 1, the first of the
prisoner of war camps for allied airmen shot down over Germany and the
Continent.
Although those attending from outside Germany
were largely American and British veterans, the occasion was in no sense
just another reunion. On the contrary, all the delegates had been
invited to a “conference” at which the lessons of the past would be
discussed not just by the old warriors, but also by their wives,
children, grandchildren, German dignitaries and civilians and their
children, a former Russian Army sergeant who was involved in the
fighting in the area at the end of the war, and his interpreter
grandson.
The conference was just as concerned about the
hardships endured by German civilians and the inmates of the
concentration camp set up outside Barth later in the war as with the
inmates of Stalag Luft 1.
In fact, the all pervading spirit of
reconciliation was probably best epitomized by the attendance of a
German woman whose father, "Henry the Butcher”, a member of the camp
intelligence staff, was shot dead at the end of the war by a
newly-liberated, but enraged American.
She was in tears at the conference banquet,
mystified about how such a tragic loss for her could have happened, yet
her very presence bore eloquent witness to her lack of animosity for the
rest of the Americans .(Her father derived his nickname from his
civilian occupation and not from any activity in the camp)
The banquet was in honour of Helga Radau who
worked so hard to make the conference a success and whose work for the
association deserves wider understanding
Such a unique gathering had to have a deeper
significance than merely to afford old airmen the chance to
exchange memories of wartime exploits and consequential hardships.
Equally involved was that Russian soldier, the German survivors of the
last battle in which he fought, and, most importantly, children from the
local school. Time may well prove their participation to be the
most significant outcome of all the effort being put into this unique
quest for international understanding. Few who were there will easily
forget the session at the school at which groups of 12 to13 year-olds
eagerly questioned the veterans who had fought against their
grandfathers.
The conference agenda was equally international.
After a welcome by the burgomeister there were in depth talks by:
·
Helga Radau (Germany):
"Behind Barbed Wire at Barth”
·
