40 years of town twinning: Alliance becomes even more important in light of the war – Oberndorf and the surrounding area
Among many guests, the city of Oberndorf am Neckar celebrated the 40th anniversary of the signing of the town twinning with the delegations from Thierville-sur-Meuse and Oberndorf near Salzburg.
Oberndorf – Mayors Claude Antion and Georg Djundja, who together with Mayor Hermann Acker are responsible for forming these alliances into building blocks for peace in Europe, were warmly welcomed in the monastery church. The Oberndorf a. N.ckar, the Liedertafel Oberndorf near Salzburg, the Frohsinn choral society and the small cast of the town band from Thierville.
In addition to his predecessors Egon Halter and Klaus Laufer, Acker also thanked the Austrian and French pioneers. He commemorated the signatories of the document 40 years ago, Marceau Maulpoix (Thierville) and Raimund Traintinger (Oberndorf near Salzburg), for their far-sighted actions at the time.
Committed and reliable
Acker described the mayors a. D. Otto Kenntner and Wilhelm Besenfelder. Kenntner was particularly committed to establishing and expanding contacts with the Austrian partner city, the former head of the high school, Wilhelm Besenfelder, created the connection to France through the student exchange.
Klaus Kirschner established contacts among the Social Democrats in the two cities of the same name. Detlef Hagedorn was also considered as the driving force and reliable factor in the partnership with Thierville.
Thanks for participating in the partnership days, Acker treated Frohsinn Oberndorf, the Liedertafel, L’Harmonie Municipal de Thierville, the Oberndorf town band, the Altoberndorf band and the Aistaig band.
“Friendship cannot be decreed, it must be developed and nurtured” – under this maxim, Acker looked back on the fundamental change that had taken place since 1945, whereby he attributed a significant share to town twinning, as it promotes human encounters on a broader level.
understanding and understanding
“Sometimes it may take a lot of strength to approach each other, to think about the perspectives of others. But only those who get involved with each other can learn from one another and benefit from one another. That is what makes a successful Europe” – Acker used the words of Angela Merkel on the occasion of the commemoration of “100 years of the Battle of Verdun”, at which the Oberndorf delegation was present.
Much has been written about understanding and comprehension, which is why Mayor Acker limited himself to picking out a few events to show how the town twinning works.
assert values
Further development is close to his heart, the need for which has been made so clear in the past few months. Every small building block in the European mosaic is valuable for asserting values and interests internally and externally. Every further encounter with the European neighbors is valuable for peacekeeping and strengthens the western alliance, which is indispensable in the fight against war, terror and violence.
The mayor of Thierville, Claude Antion, described the 40th return of the as a “great day”. German-French jumelage. It was a mixture of emotion and joy what his delegation felt in view of the fact that together we had achieved such a viable project foundation of friendship and to create mutual help.
Shaped by terrorism
According to Antion, when people appreciate each other despite their differences in language and culture, they strive together for more humanity and peace. Oberndorf and Thierville would share this ideal, since they have been working together in this spirit for 40 years. Both sides are convinced that in this 21st century, shaped by nihilism and terrorism, getting to know each other and exchanging ideas is an effective bulwark against ignorance and distrust.
Even if democracy and human rights had undeniably made progress, the world remained burdened with misery, disorder and war. In view of an accelerated globalization that is looking for rules, a united Europe acting in solidarity is enormously important. He assigned an important function to town twinning as a building block for peace.
verses of politics
Georg Djundja, the mayor of the town of Oberndorf near Salzburg, recalled the text of the partnership document signed in 1982 and warned of the urgency of implementing the promises made, even in difficult times. In particular, he referred to the formulation: “We want to contribute to supporting international understanding at the municipal level, above all in efforts to achieve peace in Europe and in the world”.
War is never a solution, but a promise of politics and diplomacy, which is why the document text could not be more up-to-date in view of what is currently happening in Europe. Because peace starts small and is a way of life, geared towards the type of interpersonal interaction and the protection of the earth’s resources.
Solidarity is important
But this requires an understanding of the complexity of the world, the intellect to understand connections and dependencies, a society based on solidarity, a social state and fair tax distribution. Above all, however, what is needed is discussion, dialogue, listening, understanding of different points of view and the willingness to find solutions that are acceptable to both sides.
Oberndorf near Salzburg is linked to the tradition and message of the peace song “Silent Night, Holy Night”. Composed in the most difficult of times, starting in the partner city, it has captured the whole world. The Liedertafel, which laid the foundation for the German-Austrian partnership with the Frohsinn singing club, commemorates this song every year on December 24 at the Silent Night Band.
Plum tree as a sign
“Let’s live this partnership in the sign of peace – in the message of Silent Night and in solidarity across all national borders” – haunting words from Georg Djundja, who – who has not been in office for very long – has to lead the way in these difficult times to fulfill partnership promises.
He wanted his guest gift, the Austrian plum tree, to be planted in German soil as a symbol of growth, prosperity and bearing fruit, just as he wanted the town partnership to do.