Dear former Federal Minister Joschka Fischer, Joschka Fischer,
dear US Consul General Preeti Shah,
dear Minister President of the German-speaking Community, Oliver Paasch,
dear Minister Oliver Krischer and Members of Parliament,
dear guests from Arlington, Halifax, Belgium and the Netherlands,
dear Council members,
dear representatives of the church and faith communities,
dear members of the consular corps,
dear Aacheners,
dear representatives of the culture of remembrance, international understanding and civic engagement,
I would like to welcome you here in the Coronation Hall of Aachen Town Hall.
In this venerable room, which could tell so many stories of our city, we have come together to commemorate one of the most significant events in our history: the end of the Second World War 80 years ago and the beginning of a new era of freedom and democracy for Aachen.
Freedom and democracy are important values that enable us to live in a community in which every voice counts and every person can shape their life according to their own ideas.
However, these values are under threat and it is our responsibility to actively fight for them and preserve them for future generations.
On October 21, 1944, Aachen was the first major German city to surrender during the Second World War. This capitulation marked the end of National Socialist rule and the beginning of a new start.
Many of our ancestors who lived through this time associate this date with a feeling of liberation - a liberation from oppression, fear and inhumanity.
My mother-in-law also experienced the end of the war as an 8-year-old girl. She sat with her bombed-out family in a wine cellar in Paulinenwäldchen.
The wounds were deep and the losses heavy.
The city had become a field of rubble, and the scars of destruction left their mark on the people who lived here.
The initial assessment: only 6,000 Aacheners were still living in the city, tens of thousands of houses had been destroyed, there were three million cubic meters of rubble, six remaining bricklayers and three carpenters.
Despite this bleak starting position and all the challenges that reconstruction brought with it, Aachen was a city of early new beginnings.
While the war was still raging in Europe, a new democratic era began here.
American soldiers and civilian helpers, supported by the courageous citizens of our city, laid the foundations for the democratic society in which we live today. Aachen became a symbol of reconstruction, a role model for a new beginning and a shaper of democracy.
Today, 80 years later, Aachen is a city of peace, culture and understanding.
We are celebrating 80 years of peace, 80 years of growing together and partnerships. Guests from our twin towns of Arlington and Halifax, as well as from our neighboring towns of Eupen and Heerlen, are here with us today to share this special moment. The friendship and trust we share with them is living proof of the power of reconciliation and mutual understanding.
But we know that the peace and democracy we enjoy today cannot be taken for granted. They are a valuable asset that must be protected and nurtured.
Today, when the voices of contemporary witnesses are becoming fewer and fewer, it is our task to pass on their stories.
Remembering the past is not a look back, but an appeal to us all to look forward.
Democracy is not a static gift, it is an ongoing process, a perpetual struggle for our rights and freedoms.
Let us not only celebrate today, but also make a commitment.
A commitment to stand up for what generations before us have fought for.
Let us continue to work for the freedom and democracy that are so vividly embodied within these walls.
At a time when democratic values are being called into question worldwide, it is up to us to send a clear signal. We stand for a Europe united in the pursuit of peace, a Europe founded on tolerance and humanity. This day is an occasion to remember, to celebrate and to recommit ourselves: For Aachen, for our twin cities, for our children and grandchildren.
This day gives us the strength and courage to continue working for a world in which peace, freedom and democracy are not just ideals, but a living reality.
Thank you very much.
13.10.2024