“Modern culture of remembrance” in the District of Düren: The distortion of remembrance on the national Remembrance Day (“Volkstrauertag”) (Published on 21/04/2024)
I. The District of Düren and the “modernization” of the commemoration of war and war victims
The District of Düren under District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn (CDU, Conservative party) has for some time been committed to the task of “modernizing” the local “culture of remembrance”, for which in particular the large military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack have been chosen as a field of activity. From the outset, this raises the question as to whether it is really the task of an administrative district, as an organizational unit of a state that is obliged to remain neutral in religious and ideological matters, to influence the commemoration of the dead by its citizens, to designate forms of commemoration as “modern” or “outdated” and thus to divide them into desired and undesired ones. However, according to all previous experience, at least in the District of Düren, such constitutional “subtleties” are not too relevant.
In June 2020, a so-called “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” (“Beauftragter für die Betreuung der Kriegsgräberstätten Vossenack und Hürtgen als Orten einer demokratischen Erinnerungs- und Gedenkkultur”) was even appointed specifically to provide supposedly expert support for its modernization efforts, who is to provide appropriate “impetus” and “advise” the district; allegedly on an “honorary” basis. It should only be noted in passing that to date the District administration strictly refuses to answer certain questions about this position and the circumstances of its allocation.
II. Measures to “modernize” the “culture of remembrance”
However, it is becoming increasingly clear what is meant by a “modern culture of remembrance” in the District of Düren. With the dwindling of the war generation and the ageing of their children, who have experienced war and its consequences first-hand, the commemoration of the victims of war is apparently also to be fundamentally reshaped and steered in the direction politically desired now.
This means, first of all, the erasure of the memory of local protagonists of war graves care from the post-war period, such as Julius Erasmus, the so-called “undertaker of Vossenack”. The information board about him and his work – the content of which was undoubtedly in need of revision – was removed from the military cemetery in Vossenack in summer 2021. This was followed in September 2022 by the removal of the memorial stone for him, which District Administrator Spelthahn had inaugurated in 2005; the corresponding memorial plaque was relocated on the cemetery.
Also in September 2022, the District of Düren banned the placing of “signs of mourning”, e.g. flowers and candles, at the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack and made this dependent on the prior application for an exemption. In March 2023, the display of photos of the fallen in uniform was then banned at both military cemeteries. Possibly due to the increasing publicity of the so-called “flower ban” and the legal action taken against it, the District of Düren recently at least excluded relatives of the buried and their “acquaintances” from it.
III. The Düren District’s commemoration of Remembrance Day 2022 at the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack
Already in 2022. it was clear that the end of “modernization” was far from being reached with these measures, and that it would not stop at institutions such as Volkstrauertag, the national Remembrance Day.
1. Volkstrauertag, the national German Remembrance Day
Volkstrauertag is a national day of remembrance for the victims of violence and war of all nations, which has been celebrated in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1952 two Sundays before the first Advent. It is a so-called “silent holiday”, on which in particular entertainment events are prohibited from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. (cf. sec. 6 (1) of the Public Holidays Act of North Rhine-Westphalia). While the central hour of remembrance takes place in the German Parliament, many commemorations and wreath-laying ceremonies are held at local level.
2. Volkstrauertag in the District of Düren
This was also the case in the District of Düren, where District Administrator Spelthahn, his deputy, the mayor of the municipality of Hürtgenwald and a representative of the German Armed Forces visited the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack on Remembrance Day and laid wreaths there. Prior to this, the Düren district association of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (“Volksbund”, the German War Graves Commission), whose chairman is as well District Administrator Spelthahn, traditionally invited citizens to a memorial service following a church service, which was held alternately at the sites in Hürtgen and Vossenack.
a) 2020 and 2021
In 2020 and 2021, this ceremony was canceled due to the “corona” virus and was replaced by a “quiet wreath-laying ceremony” by the aforementioned state representatives on Remembrance Day. Prior to the wreath-laying ceremony in 2020, District Administrator Spelthahn announced via his press office (translation from German language):
“As painful as it is to forego pausing and commemorating together this year: In view of the infection figures, the risk of so many people coming together is not a responsible option.”
A “wreath-laying ceremony in a quiet setting” was also held in 2021 without a public memorial service, which District Administrator Spelthahn informed the public about in a press release (translation from German language):
“In a small circle and with dignity, we are once again silently remembering the victims of war, violence and displacement. I very much hope that we will be able to do this again next year on a larger scale.”
b) 2022
In a departure from the previous practice of holding the commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony at the military cemeteries on Remembrance Day after a church service, both were brought forward to Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. for the first time in 2022 and decoupled from a church service. And not just any Friday afternoon, but on 11/11/, when, in the Rhineland, where the District of Düren is located, the new session of carnival is kicked off in an often festive atmosphere.
The District of Düren announced this event as follows (translation from German language):
“The commemorative event, which is jointly organized by the Düren district association of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, the mayor and the local associations, will begin at 4 p.m. in Hürtgen (Höhenstraße 114), followed by a visit to the war cemetery in Vossenack. This year, the wreath-laying ceremony will take place shortly before Remembrance Day, which is celebrated on 13 November. This is to avoid a clash of dates and to enable those who would also like to be present at commemorative events organized by local associations and in the communities on Remembrance Day to take part.”
At the event itself, a pupil from Franziskus-Gymnasium in Vossenack gave a speech that was specifically mentioned in the press release issued by the District of Düren for the event. The content and choice of words quoted there sound strangely similar to the cited contents of the District Administrator’s speech.
Unsurprisingly, on the following day – Saturday, 12/11/2022 – Aachener Zeitung, which had already attracted attention in the past due to its unusually uncritical and sympathetic coverage of the Düren District administration and its desire to “modernize the culture of remembrance”, while not always being factually and professionally convincing, almost dutifully denounced the traditional format of Remembrance Day in an article entitled “Volkstrauertag – aber kaum niemand geht hin” (“Remembrance Day – But hardly anybody is showing up”). Here, too, the aforementioned “speech by a schoolgirl” received special mention. The article’s author, Sarah Berners, added a commentary entitled „Ein neues Konzept muss her, sonst wird der Volkstrauertag verschwinden“ (“A new concept is needed, otherwise Remembrance Day will disappear”). In it she remarked (translation from German language):
„Bearing in mind that it was the District’s central memorial service, there were only a few people on site on Friday. It was specially scheduled for Friday so that it would not take place at the same time as the commemorations in the villages on Sunday.
(…)
Volkstrauertag is not able to reach young people in its current form – and in view of the wreath-laying ceremony in many a village and the commemoration in the District of Düren, it no longer reaches older people either. However, the topic is too important to simply accept that the commemorative event has fallen asleep. Remembrance Day needs a new concept, perhaps a new form, it needs to involve schools, associations and youth groups. Unfortunately, the best messages – and there were two thought-provoking speeches at the District’s central commemoration ceremony – are of little value if hardly anyone hears them. It would be nice if these impulses were passed on. We need to start thinking about how this can be achieved.“
This set the stage in a remarkable way for the proverbial spectacle that the District of Düren and the Düren district association of Volksbund held at the military cemetery in Vossenack for the next Volkstrauertag in November 2023.
Interestingly, the relocation of the commemorative event was apparently not at all well received by the local population. Aachener Zeitung reported on 18/11/2022 under the title “Vorgezogener Volkstrauertag sorgt in Hürtgen für Unmut“ (“Early Remembrance Day causes displeasure in Hürtgen”) that “by changing a long-standing tradition”, the District of Düren had “irritated citizens from Hürtgen”, who then “did their own thing” (all citations translated from German language).
IV. Thoughts
The aforementioned events raise certain questions:
What was the real reason for bringing forward the commemoration ceremony from Remembrance Day to the Friday afternoon before?
Why was this unusual scheduling, after decades of a different practice, suddenly intended to avoid alleged “date overlaps” on Remembrance Day, although the commemoration ceremony of the District and the Volksbund district association should be the relevant date in this respect?
Since when does state commemoration on the occasion of a central day of remembrance such as Remembrance Day not take place on the statutorily designated day, but is instead brought forward by two days, allegedly to avoid “date overlaps”(!)?
Does it not speak for a particular lack of spirit or tact on part of the protagonists to not only bring forward the commemoration ceremony for the victims of the wars, but also to choose 11/11/, the very day on which the new session of the Rhineland carnival begins?
Is it not readily foreseeable that if the commemorative event is held on the afternoon of a weekday, when a large part of the population is usually prevented from attending already due to work, it is unlikely that there will be a similar number of participants as on a Sunday following a church service, especially if – as in this case – it is 11/11/ and the start of the new carnival season which is celebrated by a large number of people?
Against this background, is it honest state behavior to postpone the event accordingly and to subsequently complain about the lower number of participants from the population?
Or is the postponement perhaps a very consciously calculated measure by the protagonists in order to attack the traditional commemoration of the dead on Remembrance Day as dispensable for the public (“hardly anyone goes”) in view of the almost certainly significantly lower number of participants on a weekday, in particular on 11/11/, and to be able to replace it the following year with a “dance theater” directly on the burial ground of the Vossenack military cemetery over the graves of the war victims buried there, coincidentally labeled by the District of Düren as a “newly conceived, modern commemoration event”, as demanded by Aachener Zeitung in its article of 12/11/2023?
Decide for yourself.
(Head picture: “Sarcophagus” at the German military cemetery Vossenack,
October 2023)
Further articles on the topic “‘Modern culture of remembrance’ in the District of Düren”:
- The removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (03/10/2021)
- Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge NRW on the removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (17/06/2022)
- News on the removal of the information board on Julius Erasmus from the Vossenack military cemetery in 2021 (23/08/2022)
- The “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” (“Beauftragter für die Betreuung der Kriegsgräberstätten Vossenack und Hürtgen als Orte einer demokratischen Erinnerungs- und Gedenkkultur”) (16/11/2022)
- The ban on laying flowers and candles at the military cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack (12/02/2023)
- Administrative Court Aachen denies grant of a preliminary order against the District of Düren “flower ban”, appeal to the Higher Administrative Court (23/03/2023)
- Laying of wreaths by the Administrator of the District of Düren at the Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen and Vossenack on Remembrance Day 2022 – or: Quod licet iovi, non licet bovi?(21/04/2023)
- District of Düren denies “flower ban” on Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest to press and media (13/05/2023)
- “Flower ban” of the District of Düren on the Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest: Higher Administrative Court of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia rejects the appeal against the denial of urgent legal protection (03/07/2023)
- Administration out of control – District now also bans photos of the fallen in uniform at Military Cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest (18/08/2023)
- The “permanent exhibition” on the Hürtgen war cemetery (20/12/2023)
- The removal of the memorial stone for Julius Erasmus by the District in September 2022 (06/02/2024)
- The “Dance Theater” over the graves of the war dead at the military cemetery in Vossenack on the occasion of Remembrance Day (“Volkstrauertag”) 2023 (19/08/2024)
- The statement of the President of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. on the “Dance Theater” at the military cemetery in Vossenack on the occasion of Remembrance Day 2023 – a “fact check” (13/11/2024)
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