Speech of Mr. Walter Stechel, Consul General of the Federal

Speech of Mr. Walter Stechel, Consul General of the Federal

Remarks by
Walter Stechel
Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany
in Toronto
at the
Remembrance Day Service (Volkstrauertag)
Kitchener, November 15, 2015
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Lieber Gerhard Griebenow, Präsident des Deutsch-Kanadischen Kongresses in Ontario,
Dear Mrs. Schramek, President of the German-Canadian Remembrance Society,
Members of Parliament, Mayors, local authorities,
Representatives of German organizations,
Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Liebe Landsleute,
To young people Volkstrauertag, the German Remembrance Day, may sometimes seem a relic from
times long past. The events of Friday night in Paris remind us that the history of violence and war,
suffering and death is by no means over. The new war is an asymmetric war – without declarations
of war, without columns of tanks, without uniforms. But for the victims and their relatives the
distinction between war and terror is irrelevant – they experience the same loss and they have the
same need to remember together. We therefore include the victims of the terror attacks in Paris and
their relatives in our remembrance and in our prayers.
In Germany Volkstrauertag is still dominated by the individual and collective memories of the
Second World War. Too many of us suffered and experienced loss.
A week ago I was on a long drive from Toronto to Windsor and onward to Detroit. I listened to the
audio version of Walter Kempowski’s “Echolot” or echo-sounder, sonar. In this project Kempowski
assembled a collage of individual recollections from diaries and letters to give us the immediate
impressions and sentiments of individuals during the last months of the Second World War, from
January to May 1945.
·
We listen to the young woman mourning the death of her soldier husband a few weeks after
their marriage.
·
We listen to the family experiencing the bombing of Dresden.
·
We listen to a survivor of the death marches after the dissolution of the concentration
camps.
·
We listen to the refugee from Eastern Prussia whose children freeze to death on the trek.
·
We listen to allied soldiers advancing on Germany from East and West.
·
We listen to Russian prisoners of war who see their comrades killed by guards during the
last days of the war.
·
We listen to survivors who can finally welcome peace on 8 May 1945, seventy years ago.
These letters and diary entries do not write history writ large. They reflect on Germany’s path from
1933 to 1945 and the future of their country – but from an individual perspective.
Today, on our Volkstrauertag, our German Remembrance Day 2015 we remember them all: each
human being with his or her individual balance of suffering and guilt. Today we do not pass
judgement on the rights and wrongs of their lives. We respect that justice has been transferred to
another level, beyond our earthly reach.
I sincerely appreciate that you join us in this commemoration. Let me welcome in particular the
Canadian veterans who are with us today when we stand here at the cemetery of Kitchener to
commemorate the dead, the hecatombs of dead of a dismal 20th century and beyond.
Today, we remember all victims of aggression and war – children, men and women.
Wir gedenken der Soldaten, die in den Weltkriegen starben, der Menschen, die durch
Kriegshandlungen ihr Leben verloren oder danach, in Gefangenschaft, als Vertriebene und
Flüchtlinge.
We think of those who have been persecuted and murdered because they belonged to another
nationality or race or religion - or because they did not conform to some inhuman ideal.
Wir gedenken derer, die ums Leben kamen, weil sie Widerstand gegen Gewaltherrschaft geleistet
haben, und derer, die den Tod fanden, weil sie an ihrer Überzeugung oder an ihrem Glauben
festhielten.
We mourn the victims of wars and civil conflicts, of terrorism and political persecution. We mourn
our fallen soldiers – Canadian, German and other nationalities – in Afghanistan and elsewhere
around the world.
Wir trauern um jeden von ihnen - mit ihren Müttern, Partnern, Kindern und mit allen, die Leid
tragen um die Toten.
Let us pray that from mourning we learn to respect the other and live in peace with our neighbours –
as individuals and nations.
It is in this spirit that we join every year on Volkstrauertag, the third Sunday in November, We are
grateful to the German Canadian Remembrance Foundation for organizing this gathering every year
and for taking care of this dignified place of mourning and rest. Mrs. Schramek, we all owe you and
your team our deep gratitude.
Thank you very much!