Suddenly war feels close again
Contemporary witnesses report on Peace Day
Every year, the Chemnitz Peace Day is also the occasion for a meeting of contemporary witnesses. The survivors of 5 March 1945 share their experiences over coffee and cake. However, it is at least as valuable for schoolchildren to listen to them.
Renate Rößger still has vivid memories of 5 March 1945, as she emphasised. She was not even five years old and lived in Nordstraße opposite the power station, which was ablaze that evening. They left their home and ran towards Winklerstraße, where her grandparents lived at the time. "Because my mum had my little sister in her arms and luggage in her other hand, I grabbed the hand of a strange woman," says Renate Rößger. Wearing torn trousers, the little girl stumbled over piles of rubble and broken glass while the streets burned with phosphorus. "Anyone who had to experience something like that can only ever remain an opponent of the war," Renate Rößger is convinced. When all the bells in the city ring at 9 pm on 5 March, "I cry."
Stories burn themselves in
Hearing stories like this touches Finja Becht. "It really affected me, especially because of what's happening in Ukraine and Iran at the moment. That really scares me," admits the 16-year-old, who accepted the invitation to the eyewitness meeting.
I had goose bumps and I was almost in tears.
Lotte Herrmann, 15 years old, felt the same way: "It was very emotional for me. Hearing what people had to go through as children almost brought tears to my eyes."
Carolin Lippmann, a teacher at the Gruuna School, confirms that young people are more concerned with the topic of war again today. "War is once again more of a topic among schoolchildren, also against the backdrop of the debate about compulsory military service." This makes education and encounters with contemporary witnesses all the more important. "It's different to watch a documentary than to hear a person from your own town talk about it," says Carolin Lippmann.