At the end of the 70. The people of deutschhausen came together once again with their sudeten german compatriots from the lichtenfels area for a celebration in the town museum. The focus was on the festive speech by government president heidrun piwernetz.
Gerda ott, the local representative of the deutschhausers, emphasized that the german history of the community deutschhause (which means “there, where the germans are at home”), first mentioned in 1131, ended with the expulsion after the war. The residents, with their strong sense of community, had been scattered to the four winds. So they had looked for a place in the foreign environment where they could meet regularly. This meeting place had found the deutschhauser in lichtenfels.
“All worked out by yourself”
The president of the government pointed out that after the end of the war and the expulsion, the then bavarian government had accepted more than one million sudeten germans in bavaria, and their share of the population in upper franconia was 22 percent.
The beginnings were not easy. After all, he said, there was no welcoming culture back then like there is today. The people concerned had had to work for everything they needed themselves with their manual labor, their hard work, their wealth of ideas and their skills. By their own efforts they had created jobs and new prosperity. Without this achievement of the home expellees, bavaria would certainly not have had the top position it has today.
The “fourth tribe of bavaria but does not live only from the memories of a rough past. The sudetendeutsche landsmannschaft with its federal chairman bernd posselt also sees itself as a bridge builder for the way into the future and the reconciliation with the neighbors in the czech republic. There is a close bond between the free state of bavaria and the czech republic. For example, he said, there are three county partnerships and 83 community partnerships with municipalities from the czech republic. The increasingly close ties are also reflected in the representative office of the free state of bavaria in prague, which was opened in december 2014.
The development of good neighborly relations between the czech republic and bavaria is also a matter close to her heart as president of the government of upper franconia. After all, she has roots in the sudetenland herself. "After decades of hostility and separation we are neighbors and friends in the heart of europe", underlined the government president. The sudeten germans also played a decisive role in this.
Understanding for sudeten germans
To the 70. Former mayor lubomir stefaniak from huzova (deutschhause) and his wife ursula, who is of german origin, also came to the home meeting of the deutschhausers. He expressed understanding for the terrible situation of the sudeten germans, who had to leave the houses in which they and their ancestors had lived for many years.
Gerda ott thanked rudolf gobel and frank pluschke for their great services to the affairs of the sudeten germans and awarded them with a certificate signed by bernd posselt, the spokesman of the sudeten german ethnic group.