- Contributed by听
- Audrey Lewis - WW2 Site Helper
- People in story:听
- Barbara-von Thadden, family and friends.
- Location of story:听
- Trieglaff, Poland (Formerly Prussia)
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A8683806
- Contributed on:听
- 20 January 2006
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The Family von-Thadden of Pomerania (part ten)
Barbara Fox 鈥攙on Thadden writes - In September 2004
鈥淭he family met together with their offspring to dedicate the old Cemetery of the Family von Thadden in Trieglaff. Pastor Gash spoke about 鈥榝orgetting鈥 and 鈥榝orgiving鈥. Most of the family names had been put onto stone plates. Elizabeth and two of Rudolf鈥檚 brother who were killed in the war were empty.
The Burgermeister of Trieglaff and the people of the village have built, cleaned and repaired the gate, which my great grandfather had put up to the entrance. Not all the houses in the village are there today. The church service was in the Lutheran church, now of course Catholic. Again the subject of the sermon was forgiving and reconciliation. The Polish congregation went with us to the official opening and dedication of the cemetery. It was a Protestant service for the Protestant family who had been buried there. Polish, German and European flags had been put on either side of the memorial.
The school, in 1945/46 housed the cruel, feared and hated Polish Militia as their base and the cellar was a prison for my mother and the people they picked up and treated abominably. The Director welcomed us and thanked the family for the projector and teaching materials, because the school wanted to introduce German into the curriculum. The children were already learning English. Upstairs they had 15 computers.
After I spoke about my sister Elizabeth it was obvious that the village people had not known anything about my family who lived in Trieglaff before them, and the fact that the family too had suffered under the Nazis.
The house is dilapidated and much changed. 50 disabled people live there and there are 20 day children, out of what had been a manor house for a family with six children. How could one let children live in such a cold, utterly institutionalised, unattractive place? But you have to say that it serves a good purpose and it is thanks to my mother and me staying there in March 1945, when nearly all the manor houses in Pomerania had been abandoned by their fleeing owners and then destroyed by the Russian army, that the house is still there. My mother would have been happy that it is full of children again.
The park is overgrown. An old man stopped to look at us, he had been a soldier and had not gone back home but stayed on in Zimmerhausen, He said he remembered me and my mother 鈥 after 59 years?
The weekend was amazing. The Polish people had received us so warmly and overwhelmed us with their generosity, their kindness and openness. Their genuine wish not just for reconciliation, but for friendship was a wonderful experience for us. It was hard for Rudolf and for I 鈥 we went with a baggage of memories and difficult associations. The younger generations were full of interest and questions. They wanted to know about their 鈥榬oots鈥.
The cemetery has become a new centre for the village, they walk to it and enjoy the place. Every week one class of school children go to the cemetery to tidy, so that it will continue to look cared for. And in the school they are pleased with the projector and are using it.
It seems that for the village my family invasion has been a great event!鈥
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