From Spiegelberg to the Three Stones
I could not get the lecture on the industrialists Spiegelberg and Büssing out of my mind. Therefore my inquisitiveness leads me to Vechelde yesterday where I can literally walk in Spiegelberg’s shoes. On the spot I am faced with an unexpected finding. The greater context crystallizes upon a visit of the exhibition “Three stones” at the memorial Schillstraße. A totally amazing experience to me how the circuit is completed from the lecture on sunday to the exhibition yesterday.
The Jute gate
Being kindled by my passion for discovery I end up in Vechelde this wednesday. From the main road I turn left into the Spiegelbergallee. That sounds good to me as I am searching for the Jute Gate, the former entrance to Spiegelberg’s factory. It is not so easy to find the portal. Via the Flachsring I finally reach it. I am a little bit disappointed because besides the gate there is nothing left of the former factory building. From the lecture I know that the former jute spinning mill was later turned into a KZ outpost. But there are also no remains. Only a sign attached to the wall tells the visitor what has happened at this place from September 1944 to March 1945.
The palace garden of Vechelde
After this heavy encounter with the past I enjoy a rest at the close by palace garden. Unfortunately the baroque residence of Ferdinand, duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, has been torn down at the end of the 19th century. A small but nice park was left over and treats the visitor to walk or linger around.
I am a little bit envious on one of the baroque figures in the park. The statue shows two women and a man in a jolly pose. It seems that a that time people could simply enjoy themselves. A scene that seems to be very far away in times of the Corona pandamic. The wanderings through the park finish my visit to Vechelde. I return to Braunschweig. In the afternoon I plan to visit the exhibition “Three Stones”.
The exhibition “Three Stones” at the memorial Schillstraße
The graphic novels of Nils Oskamp, affected by right-wing extremist violence, shows what force does to people. The title of the show “Three Stones” comes from a visit of the artist to a devastated Jewish cemetery at Dortmund. Being a teenager he took three stones with him. The stones were meant as reminders of the dead. Now it is the starting point of Oskamp’s story, leading from his experience in the early days to his visit of the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.
From Braunschweig to Auschwitz and back
The pictures also show how Oskamp tries to cope with this exposure to violence and what did it to his pschye. A staff member provides me with a short introduction to the exhibition. Under discussion I mention that I visited the KZ-outposts at Vechelde today and I learn that the outposts of Vechelde and the Schillstraße were connected to each other and belonged to the KZ Neuengamme. I am surprised how the circuit is completed this way.
There is also some picture and sound material on the two outposts available. I listen to the contemporary witness interview of Sammy Frenkel. I get a closer insight into the context of the staggering occurences. At first he was moved from Braunschweig to the Ghetto of Lodz. Later he was moved to Auschwitz and was then “lucky” to return to Braunschweig where his father worked for the axle production of Büssing at the outpost of Vechelde. What an odyssey. On the one hand I am moved by the many horrifying individual fates. On the other hand I am amazed by what means the story of Spiegelberga and Büssing can be traced up to here. I leave the memorial with mixed feelings.
My date with a damselfly
I spend the end of the day with a friend of mine on a relaxing wandering by bike through the Westpark. We cycle to the Löwenlabyrinth at the Madamenweg. A beautiful blue damselfly poses for us. That reminds me of another hike around Wahrenholz. What a nice conclusion of an eventful day.
