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German War Veterans Pay Respects to Fallen Comrades and Aid Victors

13 July, 00:00

By Volodymyr KONIEV, The Day A unique cemetery for German soldiers who died in World War II was established in Rivne oblast eight years ago. 199 Wehrmacht soldiers killed in the vicinity of Rivne in 1941 were buried near the village of Bronnyky. The soldiers' cemetery was long neglected and in ruins, but in the early 1990s through the joint efforts of local residents and war veterans from Germany it was restored. The relatives of the Wehrmacht soldiers who perished in distant Ukraine come and visit their graves. And recently, the burial place was visited by Michael Beer, aged 86, a former soldier of the 35th Infantry Regiment, last survivor of the battle, and now a Roman Catholic priest. Together with an Orthodox priest, he held a memorial service for the fallen German soldiers. A similar ceremony took place nearby at a cemetery for Soviet soldiers who died during the war. When visiting the military cemetery, the former Wehrmacht soldier could not hold back his tears. At meetings with Rivne oblast residents, German veterans talked about the need for reconciliation and a search for new forms of cooperation between the citizens of two countries which fought each other half a century ago. However, it is obviously too early to discuss a fundamentally new relationship between the former adversaries, and cooperation is largely limited to German humanitarian aid to Rivne oblast. As far as serious projects are concerned, they remain mostly on paper. Still, the German veterans have not lost hope and continue to help the former victors. For instance, in the last few years Josef Brizinsky of the small town of Oberfichtach, who lost both feet in the war, has made more than twenty truck deliveries to Rivne.

Newspaper output №:

№26, (1999)

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Day After Day