German Soldiers commemorate the victims of war and tyranny in Poland.
On Saturday, November 17th, 2007, members of the German Element of Multinational Corps Northeast, representatives of the German National Association for the Upkeep of War Graves, representatives of the military chaplaincy as well as relatives commemorated the victims of war and tyranny. The ceremony was held on the German military cemetery in Stare Czarnowo, a place 30 kilometres southeast of the Polish city of Szczecin.
Roughly 11 000 German soldiers found their final resting place on this cemetery. In his stirring speech, Colonel G.S. Baierl, Senior German Officer in MNC NE, underlined the necessity of remembrance, in particular in view of the declining number of people who were personally affected since they had to witness World War II and experience the sufferings it caused. He concluded his speech by citing the first Bundeswehr Chief of Staff, Army, Lieutenant General Hans Röttiger: 'Whoever forgets the past in the presence is going to lose the future.'
The speech was followed by the wreath-laying ceremony in silent commemoration of the dead. The Szczecin Women’s Choir provided a musical accompaniment to the commemoration of 100 participants and to the wreath-laying ceremony.
