This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. It began on 1 August and lasted for over sixty days. A time in which the population bravely resisted the German occupying forces with heroic courage, above all the members of the Polish Home Army. They defended their homeland and their fellow human beings, but had to surrender due to the hopeless situation. The Nazi regime's revenge on the people and the city of Warsaw was cruel.
District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo, Chairman of the German-Polish Society Saar
e. V. and member of the board of the association, emphasises: "For us Germans, the irreversibility of what happened and the forgiveness of our Polish friends gives rise to the responsibility to ensure that such things never happen again. We must prevent criminals from coming to power and being able to commit such crimes. However, on the occasion of this anniversary, we should also remember the existing and good friendship with the Polish population. In the Saarpfalz district, it is our partnerships with the eight Polish districts to date that have proven to be exemplary in terms of international understanding."
In connection with the atrocities committed in Poland during the Second World War, District Administrator Dr Gallo recalls the fate of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children, a family from Markowa who were murdered by the Nazis because they hid eight Jews for over two years. 24 March also marked the 80th anniversary of their deaths. The Catholic Church beatified the Ulma family last year. District Administrator Dr Gallo was keen to commemorate the Ulma family with a memorial in the Saarpfalz district The Gräfinthal Monastery in the municipality of Mandelbachtal was the perfect place for this, as the grave of Anna Leszczynska, the daughter of the Polish-Lithuanian King Stanislaus I Leszczynski, is located there. The memorial was dedicated in March of this year. Nine apple trees, one for each family member, were planted in the monastery garden and labelled with their names. "The trees should bear fruit and help to ensure that charity, humanity and compassion shape the lives of future generations. With this memorial, we are also letting the recent past speak for itself in Gräfinthal. In the years since the end of the Second World War and especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, much has changed for the better in German-Polish relations and I am firmly convinced that it is worth continuing to believe in and work towards understanding and respectful co-operation. With the Ulma family, we remember the irreversible, which must not be repeated. With the partnerships and friendships we have forged in the Saarpfalz district, we are prioritising the common goal of peace and peaceful coexistence, thereby strengthening the cohesion in Europe that is vital for all of us."
Two years of the "Homburg Alliance", one year of the "Trippstadt Declaration"
Two years ago, on 4 July, the International Alliance for Peace and Cohesion in Europe, the "Homburg Alliance", was formed on the initiative of the District Administrator. 19 districts and regions from France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and the USA are involved. Among other things, it has made the culture of remembrance a permanent task. "This also includes educating our young people in particular about what happened and supporting them in participating in peace-building processes. It is existential and urgently necessary for all of us to consistently promote Europe, the rule of law and democracy. 1 August is a special day in the Decade of Remembrance, another memorial to the goals we have set ourselves together with our Polish friends. I am particularly pleased that our neighbouring districts of Kaiserslautern and Kusel fully support this approach with the "Trippstadt Declaration" of 30 June 2023, which I co-signed in Olesno," Dr Gallo concluded.
Information on the district partnerships and the European work of the Saarpfalz district can be obtained from the head of the European Office, Dr Violetta Frys, by calling (06841) 104-8273 or sending an e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected].