History Cover Up

(Blog) History and history cover up as witnessed in a German village.

Visible traces of WWII in Germany are disappearing. The allied forces blew up all the German bunkers leaving behind only the rubble, and that is being covered up.

I moved to Nothweiler, Germany in 1992. It is a small village less than 10 kilometers from the office and production facilities that I was to manage. Nothweiler is on the border of France (Alsace), situated in a valley surrounded by the Pfaelzerwald - the forests of the Pfalz in the Palatine region of Germany. I began exploring the surrounding hills and found numerous exploded bunkers. The skeletons of these bunkers could be seen throughout the countryside; the huge reinforced steel cement slabs in disarray. I was interested in the history of the war and enjoyed investigating these bunkers, crawling through them, imagining what took place and noting their strategic placements. Trenches led to and from the bunkers allowing the troops to move about without being seen. Foxholes dug by the invading armies were still visible on adjacent hills where fighting took place.
After living in the area for two years, the bunkers began to be covered up. Mountains of dirt were pushed over them. When I asked the reason I was
told that the people wanted to forget about the war, and the bunkers were a reminder. I was sad to see what was happening. In my view, it was an
attempt to bury history. I felt fortunate to see them before the cover up.

My house was situated on the side of the mountain overlooking the small village of just over 200 inhabitants. I could see the Wegelnburg Castle (a ruin) built in the first half of the 13^th century. Near the Wegelnburg, on the
French side of the border, are the ruins of Hohenburg, built in the second half of the 13^th century. A kilometer farther is Fleckenstein, a cliff castle built in 1174. There are many castles in the region, now skeletal ruins, after being destroyed by the French in 1689. My interest in the castles of the region was later to influence my novel, Journey Into the Past.

There was a guard hut at the end of the village on the border with France that controlled passage via a gravel road to the French village, Wingen. A sign in French and English on the borderread: “You are here on the border. Stay on the marked paths. Take care to keep the forest clean and respect nature. When you cross the border, carry your passport and don’t take any articles with you that require the payment of duty.”

In 1995 several European nations agreed to lift border controls – including those between Germany and France. On New Years Day, January 1996, the lifting of border controls went into effect, and acelebration was held on the German side of the border by the guardhouse, between the villages of Wingen and Nothweiler. It was an historical event and everyone was happy. The French brought food and a variety of Schnapps. There was much Prosting and good wishes for a new future. Language was not a problem since many of the villagers of Wingen spoke German, and at one time had been German citizens. The next morning I discovered that the border crossing signs had been torn down. I retrieved a border sign as a souvenir and have it in my possession.

During the war between Germany and France of 1870-71, Graf Zeppelin (later sponsor of the famous Zeppelin dirigible airships), while being pursued by the French, made a rest stop in Nothweiler and watered his horse at the fountain. A plaque commemorates this event.
In 1939, Adolf Hitler visited Nothweiler while inspecting the fortifications in the region. The town planted an oak tree in his honor and named the tree, Adolph Hitler. A local citizen named his newborn son, Adolf. Adolf, who had nurtured the tree over the years, relayed this bit of information to me. As he told me the story, he placed his finger over his lips as a sign to keep it quiet. He said that if the Americans knew the tree was named after Adolf
Hitler, they would have cut it down. This tree stands in front of the Rathaus (the town hall). Adolf passed away in 2008.

On top of the mountain behind my house, is a huge rock formation that was used as a lookout post for the German army. On the opposite side of the border the French built a wooden lookout tower. The Germans and French kept an eye on each other, and when the French elevated their tower higher than the German position, the Germans shot off the new elevation. I investigated the rock formation, crawling through the cave-like crevices. I spied an inscription on the rock. I brushed away the dirt and overgrown foliage and saw a Swastika carved into the stone. That excited me. I kept it quiet so that it would not be erased. To me it was a part of history.

Nothweiler also had an iron ore mine, named St. Anna Stollen. It was opened in 1493 and abandoned in 1883. During the war, it was used as a shelter for some of the local inhabitants. Others fled to the various rock formations with large cave-like recesses that afforded protection from air raids and shelling. Blackened walls still show traces of fires used for cooking and warmth.

Today, above ground fortifications are covered up and destroyed while underground fortifications remain. In France, above ground bunkers can still be seen and are a tourist attraction. The main underground fortification of the French, was the Maginot Line, running along the borders of Germany and Italy. It did not deter the Germans however since they simply entered France through Belgium and Luxemburg. Underground fortifications in Germany, in strategic locations, can be visited. The huge fortification in Berlin, with several underground levels, housed hundreds of troops with provisions.

Can one really cover up history? Will future generations discover the hidden, covered over bunkers, and view it differently? I think they will. Those who survived the war will soon be all dead and buried. Memories are meant to live on, good and bad. One cannot change the past, however it can and should be a guide for future conduct. Innocent civilians as well as conscripted soldiers following orders, die needlessly. History continues to repeat itself. Will we ever learn? There should never be a need for cover up.

Abe F. March wrote:

Can one really cover up history? Will future generations discover the hidden, covered over bunkers, and view it differently? I think they will. Those who survived the war will soon be all dead and buried. Memories are meant to live on, good and bad. One cannot change the past, however it can and should be a guide for future conduct. Innocent civilians as well as conscripted soldiers following orders, die needlessly. History continues to repeat itself. Will we ever learn? There should never be a need for cover up.

Abe,

There is a strong tendency for history to be written by the victors. We see it in our own American history, and at least as far back as the Egyptians.

The cover-ups are usually exposed, but only after a change in the worldview, as we perceive "reality" based on our beliefs and our need to believe a certain way.

You say that "one cannot change the past," but I wonder. It seems to me that our perceptions of the past are changing all the time. The past is often merely a representation of our choices about what we wish to remember.

Ann

Very interesting, Abe. I agree that history should not be covered up. If it's forgotten, the same mistakes will be made. I don't think men will ever change so they will always find an excuse for war. Countless books have been written presenting the German view of WWII.
History was being rewritten as soon as the war in Europe ended because no one in Germany had supported Hitler. This resulted in a great deal of laughter and grim jokes.

Dear Abe,
No one wants to admit that they were sheep led to slaughter. It is that way with all war. People are enlisted to defend the government, no matter right or wrong, and in the end they have to look back and see. It takes years and years for the clouds of propaganda to clear, but one day the vision is clearer. It is at that time a person knows if they have been decieved, or not. Some people never want to admit that they have been used and manipulated. Well, most.

I guess it is good to live long enough to even think about that history.

What a lovely post you have put here!

How fortunate is America. How very young, too.


I have thought about how it would be if every state in America decided it was it's own Nation and could wage wars between each other, create an alliance with some and exclude others and play the same games that are on the worldwide stage.


Love,
Betty

We had an exchange student from Germany and she had never studied World War II in school until she came to America. Her parents said they did not know what to do with that piece of history. Abe tells it in an honest way as does Dick.

My book, Flow On Sweet Missouri, is about the Civil War in that state, where both north and south allegiances were strong. My ancestor in the book fought on the side of the union. However, the people in his town are on the side of the south even today. To me, it is history, telling what was, but some there live in the past, from the days of battle and not of peace. It is a feeling I never found in Germany or Japan when visiting these countries.

However, a few years ago we went to a parade in the town in Alsace where my husband's grandfather was born. After the formal parade, the French band from the parade stood in front of the bleachers and played the European hymn. We heard another band playing the same piece down the street and the French band motioned to them to come and play with them. Thus, the German band came and played the European hymn with the French band. We could feel something had happened, but it was only later that our cousins told us it was monumental, something they had never seen before.

History is present. It is how we perceive it, how we know it from our own lives, what we have learned.

I will never forget the comment from a woman I met who had lived under communism. She said, "They had good schools, but when only one side of on issue is taught, people can't help their country progress." That is a quote that is always in my mind.

Carol

Ann said:
"You say that "one cannot change the past," but I wonder. It seems to me that our perceptions of the past are changing all the time. The past is often merely a representation of our choices about what we wish to remember."

Ann, I agree with perceptions changing, however one cannot change the past. The deeds that were done cannot be undone.

Thanks Betty and Dick for your comments.

Carol, your world view is enlightening. What one sees and hears first hand has a special meaning. It can often change pre-conceived notions or perception.

You can understand why the German people might wish to put WWII behind them. Yet it is still sad that they are covering over the remains of the places where men died in defence of their homelands.

Covering up is not the answer. Rewriting history helps no one. Instead of concealing the atrocities why not apologize and attempt to make restitution?

About ten years ago the Pope apologized for the atrocities of the Catholic Church: to Jews, women, people of the world. It was monumental.

An apology is not a form of weakness but strength. It has many meanings. It is about regret, regret that a better decision wasn't made, that there wasn't more information, that someone was hurt by something someone else did even if it wasn't meant to hurt.

One time a family member had a disagreement with another family member. The one said she couldn't apologize because she didn't feel she was at fault. But she did say she was sorry for the problems in the relationship and hoped they could improve because it was important to her.

Carol