Post by connie on Feb 9, 2017 18:06:50 GMT -5
GOOD NEWS!
A message that began circulating around Thanksgiving announced that proposed mining operations threatened the existence of the remains of Stalag IV and the memorial there.
My inquiry to Mike Sheaner brought copy of this update which he recently received. (The bold print is my addition).
For details on the background on this cause for celebration see the reply to this post.
UPDATE FROM UWE STEINHOFF
Dear friends,
Today I want to give you some update on the situation around the camp Mühlberg memorial site.
First of all, let me thank you once again for the letters that you sent in order to express your interest in the continuation of the memorial of Stalag IVB/NKVD special camp Nr.1.
I can assure you, that exactly your letters were a key argument for the positive developments of the recent weeks.
During the last weeks, there have been a number of talks involving Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V., BVVG (the holder of mining rights), the Brandenburg mining authority, the Brandenburg parliament and prime minister Dietmar Woidke, the German Ministry of Finances, the local municipalities Mühlberg and Bad Liebenwerda and the mining company Elbekies GmbH.
To be honest, all participants acknowledged the importance of the memorial of Stalag IVB. They were working hard to find a legal solution that would save the former area of the camp from gravel mining. In January, the head of the Brandenburg mining authority Hans-Georg Thiem said publicly: "It is an illusion to believe that we will ever agree to mining activity on the area of the former camp Stalag IVB/NKVD camp Nr.1".
Under these circumstances, BVVG agreed to a compromise, that the potential mining area will be divided in two parts. For the southern part, including the camp area and Neuburxdorf, mining rights will be reversed, so that never again mining will be possible on this area.
The border between the split parts is drawn a few hundred meters north of the camp site, so that it can be excluded that future mining activity will interfere with the mass graves of the NKVD camp at the northern camp border.
This is, in our opinion, the best possible solution. The memorial camp site and also cemetery Neuburxdorf will be saved forever from gravel mining.
Please let me notice, that in our times, where nationalism and hatred are on the rise in many parts of the world, we have seen around camp Mühlberg in the last weeks an extraordinary and quite different development. People from many countries, backgrounds and ideologies, even former enemies of WWII and their relatives, acted united in order to rescue a memorial for the victims of these cruel times. We were all focused on the people who suffered in camp Mühlberg. We were focused on the need to remember these times in order to work together for a more peaceful future for all our countries. And exactly this unity of the wish for peace and friendship over all borders lead to our success. I have no words to express my deepest thanks to all of you who made this possible. It is very remarkable. We achieved something that would be so desirable for many other ongoing conflicts in the world, where we can only hope that today's enemies find in the future the power to a common memorial over the graves and places of suffering of their beloved ones. Thank you very much, dear friends, you gave an example to the world that will stand for all times.
Finally, let me highlight the activity of the head of our Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V., pastor Matthias Taatz, who spend many hours in discussions with all kinds of authorities, making clear that we were utterly determined to resist a destruction of the memorial site, but ready for every useful compromise.
Please spread this information to all interested people you might know.
With best regards and wishes
Uwe Steinhoff
Member of Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
Ploener Strasse 15a
14193 Berlin
Germany
email: info@lager-muehlberg.de
A message that began circulating around Thanksgiving announced that proposed mining operations threatened the existence of the remains of Stalag IV and the memorial there.
My inquiry to Mike Sheaner brought copy of this update which he recently received. (The bold print is my addition).
For details on the background on this cause for celebration see the reply to this post.
UPDATE FROM UWE STEINHOFF
Dear friends,
Today I want to give you some update on the situation around the camp Mühlberg memorial site.
First of all, let me thank you once again for the letters that you sent in order to express your interest in the continuation of the memorial of Stalag IVB/NKVD special camp Nr.1.
I can assure you, that exactly your letters were a key argument for the positive developments of the recent weeks.
During the last weeks, there have been a number of talks involving Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V., BVVG (the holder of mining rights), the Brandenburg mining authority, the Brandenburg parliament and prime minister Dietmar Woidke, the German Ministry of Finances, the local municipalities Mühlberg and Bad Liebenwerda and the mining company Elbekies GmbH.
To be honest, all participants acknowledged the importance of the memorial of Stalag IVB. They were working hard to find a legal solution that would save the former area of the camp from gravel mining. In January, the head of the Brandenburg mining authority Hans-Georg Thiem said publicly: "It is an illusion to believe that we will ever agree to mining activity on the area of the former camp Stalag IVB/NKVD camp Nr.1".
Under these circumstances, BVVG agreed to a compromise, that the potential mining area will be divided in two parts. For the southern part, including the camp area and Neuburxdorf, mining rights will be reversed, so that never again mining will be possible on this area.
The border between the split parts is drawn a few hundred meters north of the camp site, so that it can be excluded that future mining activity will interfere with the mass graves of the NKVD camp at the northern camp border.
This is, in our opinion, the best possible solution. The memorial camp site and also cemetery Neuburxdorf will be saved forever from gravel mining.
Please let me notice, that in our times, where nationalism and hatred are on the rise in many parts of the world, we have seen around camp Mühlberg in the last weeks an extraordinary and quite different development. People from many countries, backgrounds and ideologies, even former enemies of WWII and their relatives, acted united in order to rescue a memorial for the victims of these cruel times. We were all focused on the people who suffered in camp Mühlberg. We were focused on the need to remember these times in order to work together for a more peaceful future for all our countries. And exactly this unity of the wish for peace and friendship over all borders lead to our success. I have no words to express my deepest thanks to all of you who made this possible. It is very remarkable. We achieved something that would be so desirable for many other ongoing conflicts in the world, where we can only hope that today's enemies find in the future the power to a common memorial over the graves and places of suffering of their beloved ones. Thank you very much, dear friends, you gave an example to the world that will stand for all times.
Finally, let me highlight the activity of the head of our Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V., pastor Matthias Taatz, who spend many hours in discussions with all kinds of authorities, making clear that we were utterly determined to resist a destruction of the memorial site, but ready for every useful compromise.
Please spread this information to all interested people you might know.
With best regards and wishes
Uwe Steinhoff
Member of Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
Ploener Strasse 15a
14193 Berlin
Germany
email: info@lager-muehlberg.de
