|
traces of memory Włodzimierz Fiszer page 18 worthy of the grand events of Tannenberg in the last days of August of 1914". After a few minutes, our bus swiftly carries our day trippers towards the Town of Hohenstein, but the gigantic towers of the "Nationaldenkmal" are still visible before our eyes from a shortened perspective, to finally disappear behind the wall of the green trees of Tannenberg Village. Automobiles taking the participants of the Tannenberg celebrations away, literally chase one after another. Having gone past Hohenstein, we stopped again next to the Waplitz cemetery to have a closer look at it now. Walking across it, I noticed a huge ferro-concrete cross topping the cemetery from far away, which I have already mentioned. It was in the cemetery placed by a field altar, built from massive stones. On both sides of the altar square, there were rows of graves of fallen Russian soldiers with characteristic Orthodox crosses on the left-hand side, Germans on the right. After having left Waplitz and more than one hour of motoring we were again in the Town of Neidenburg, where we planned to have a one-hour stopover. Making a sightseeing tour round the town, I read a newsletter pasted to the wall ["Der Sturmer" – "Storm Trouper"], among other things: it is an organ of the Nazi National-Socialist organisation whose bottom line is fighting against Jews. The expression of this approach on the pages of "Der Sturmer" was not only columns of serious bias but, also, a plethora of caricatures. One of them had a caption (Der "Auch" Arbeiter) which means "one who is also working". In the foreground, it showed a typical Jewish capitalist with a big belly, stuffing his pockets with bank notes, and a Christian workman, deep in the background, working hard on soil transport by carts along the rails of a makeshift railway. Another caricature, entitled "The Clause", featuring a large § sign with a Jew going through it from one side to the other; caught at the moment when one of his legs and one hand are still in the "clause" sign. This was supposed to symbolise Jews breaking laws, as they are able to find loopholes through which they are able to get to the other side and achieve their own ends. page 19 The leading article of "Storm Trouper" tackled the role of Jews in politics as ever-eternal political instigators. The article claims that all of the bloody revolutions to date were caused by Jews, including the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, as well as the last, the Russian, one. The entire set of articles concentrated on the glorification and praise of the person of the Führer-Hitler, whose spellbinding qualities, along with other of his advantages, were raised to the level of genius. A several-storey high Adolf Hitler school building, newly built, sharply contrasted with the surrounding town buildings of solely old German style, because of its box-like, sharply defined contours. I finished my sightseeing tour in the town with a trip to a part of Castle Hill where something like a monumental, Mediaeval castle-monastery of very interesting architecture stood. A narrow alley wound up among trees and shrubs, ending at a not very large square with several benches. The place offered a beautiful view of the town and its surroundings where solely brick red houses, covered with tiles, offered a contrast to the background of green. As usually happens in places like this, close to the benches, in a niche amidst flowers, a plaque on a pole was planted, asking for orderly behaviour in the garden and for the public to take care. In this case, however, the cultured request was additionally phrased in a poetic way, as follows: „Fur jeden Fuss ist dieser weg Fur jeden Mulden diese Bauk Fur jedes Auge diese Blume Zum allgemeinem Eigeutume Fur Herz und Sinn sei alles Dir Doch nichts ist fur die Finger hier which reads: "For every foot this path is winding For all tired folks this little bench For all those eyes these flowers blooming page 20 May all the people them possess/ With heart and mind, Enjoy you these Do not use your fingers, my dear, please!" The sun was stretching out to the far-reaches of the sky, casting its rays onto the reddish planes of the Neidenburg roofs; indeed, it was leaving, saying farewell to this Sunday time which brought not only a series of rarely experienced emotions but, also, a plethora of unforgettable experiences and a series of images of specific meaning, along with a number of living impressions which had passed before our eyes, leaving deep marks in our memories... From the Castle Hill of Neidenburg, I solemnly said good-bye to Germany in the radiance of the sunset for who knows how long, perhaps forever... And again, more than a one hour ride along excellent roads, smooth as tarmac, leading along avenues of lindens and chestnut trees towards the Polish border. It had already become completely dark by now, when we stopped in front of the building of the "Zollamt" (German Customs Office). The formalities, similar to our journey there, proved surprisingly quick and simple; it is enough to say, even, that we were not asked to get off our vehicles. After a several-minute long stoppage, the barrier was raised up and we drove along a several-kilometre long strip of neutral land, finally reaching the Polish checkpoint. Here, the issue of crossing the border looked totally different. Many automobiles were stuck in front of a closed barrier, waiting for permits to pass, while their passengers waited patiently, partially occupying the courtyard of the customs office, partially inside, crowded into a small room. We waited more than half an hour. Some malicious and extremely impatient passengers sarcastically compared our check-point ceremony with the brisk service to be had from those who were entering Germany. Others made funny comments, explaining our wait by the fact that one customs officer had gone home to fetch his wife as, being male, he would not be able to make a personal search of the woman, while his spouse could do so. Eventually, a few customs officers came out of the building, who first inspected the contents of the automobiles fastidiously with the use of torches, and then ordered the people (Sic!) |
|
|||
| |||||
