District of Munich – Think positively, not laterally – District of Munich
Theodor Fontane once could hardly wait. “Oh, shake off the heavy dream,” wrote the poet and wanted to banish the dark season as quickly as possible: “And the long hibernation.” The district of Munich is also awakening from this, spring is sending its first greetings to the country, the sun is gaining power, the days are getting longer again – and people with good spirits are drawn outside again.
And yet everything is different in this approaching spring, since no one could seriously have imagined that this continent would once again be gripped by a criminal war of aggression, the effects of which are also clearly noticeable here in the district of Munich. The shock of Putin’s brutal actions, which violate international law, runs deep. The images of bombed cities, fleeing children and women, and the mass graves in Mariupol are burned deep into the collective memory. But the dismay at the ruthless attack has by no means led to inaction.
From the first day of the invasion, more than two weeks ago, it has become clear what civil society can and is willing to do. When people, without thinking twice, pack groceries into their cars and set out in the middle of the night to help at the Polish-Ukrainian border, that is not a matter of course. Neither if private living space is made available and families or single strangers stay with them and give them protection. The district office is overburdened with offers from Planegg via Ottobrunn to Unterschleißheim. These days are also remembered and made clear how much the rescue services, fire brigades, relief organizations and helper groups contribute to social cohesion. This tends to be forgotten or taken for granted.
As terrible, senseless and brutal as this war is, the signs of helpfulness and openness that this country is showing are impressive. That is positive in times that were not easy even before the invasion thanks to the corona pandemic; shows that the vast majority of people do not want to think outside the box, but want to think positively – and act accordingly.
Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn’s former mayor, Ursula Mayer, who herself takes in displaced persons from Ukraine, said that this was a matter of course for her. “We’re doing so well, so we have to show solidarity and help now,” Mayer told this newspaper about her motive. There is little to add. Except maybe the wish that this solidarity is lived out sustainably. And after spring follows a summer without war.