There is nothing remarkable about the village of Dornheim in Hessen. But you might take up the invitation written on this memorial to "verweile und gedenke" or "stop and think" in English. In 1939, Dornheim had around 2000 inhabitants. By 1945, about 200 of Dornheim's men had either gone missing or had lost their lives while fighting in WW2. Their names are inscribed below. Of course, they are not just names, are they? Let's look at one of them - Johannes Landau - in the third column at the very bottom. You cannot read it but I know it is there because I have seen this memorial many times and have a reason for remembering this particular victim of war. But first, who was Johannes Landau, and what happened to him?
On 3 January 1945, Johannes wrote this letter to his wife and daughter at home in Dornheim. In the letter, he writes: "...the worst situation, not a crumb of bread for days on end, absolutely nothing to eat...I am so tired and desperate...I have no feeling... I hope we will find each other healthy again at home. Greetings and kisses to you both from your dad.
Johannes went missing in February 1945. It is thought that he lost his life while taking part in the February/March battles north of Budapest. On 31 December 1945, he was declared "dead." So - who was this man - just another anonymous name engraved in stone? Have a look at the photos and the information below.
This is Johannes. Bottom right are the postcards he made to send home to Dornheim. The postcard on the right sends Christmas wishes to his young daughter, Anni. Anni was only 3 years old at the time and this is the only message of love that she received from the father she never knew. How do I know this? Because I was skiing with Anni several times in Italy in the 1990s. She might have been nearly 60 at the time, but she skied with "Feuer im Arsch." Like most Germans I know, Anni does not mention the war. Nor, of course, do the families of the other 7,000,000 Germans who lost their lives between 1939 and 1945.
I sometimes wonder what situations, what stories the word 'missing' covers, or what it means. I remember reading one man's memories from the First World War, how a shell landed, leaving him unscathed while his two companions simply disappeared into thin air, presumably blown to smithereens. But 'missing' means much more - especially if we compare wartime situations with those in civilian life, where people go missing every year. Has someone written about this, I wonder - a scientific study, or a collection of short stories?
Posted by: Christopher Goddard | 12/18/2017 at 07:38 AM