Peace Network |
|---|
Mai 24, 2023
I had found no information on the internet about a Rheinwiesenlager in Hechtsheim. We drove there anyway and found nothing on the spot either, not even directions. Hechtsheim is close to Zahlbach. Both places are suburbs of Mainz.
 |
Map of Hechtsheim, 1970 |
 |
Map of Hechtsheim, 2024 |
July 10, 2024
A year later, from a totally unexpected and unsolicited source, I received
information about the unveiling of a plaque in a cemetery in Hechtsheim. The
information came via a German facebook group, which I had never visited before.
Facebook is not a general source of information for me.
The plaque was in memory of Hechtsheim's Rheinwiesenlager and this plaque even
told where the Rheinwiesenlager was located.
I rarely, if ever, get unsolicited and perfect information just sent home.
Woooow ...
According to the report, from summer 2024, a Hinweistafel (Gedenkstehle or in English a commemorative plaque, memorial plate) was unveiled in Hechtsheim at the cemetery on Wingertsweg in Hechtsheim.
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Gedenkstehle Hechtsheim photo |
Memorial plate Hechtsheim text |
That plaque states that the Rheinwiesenlager was under (unterhalb) the Kurmainz
barracks constructed in 1938.
How can it be, that in 1945 an encampment was built under a barracks that had been
there since 1938? Translated into English, "unterhalb (von)" means below,
just below, south of. The latter translation in particular provides the solution
in this practical and translation issue.
The barracks are located on a low hill. And on the south side, about 20 m lower,
at the bottom of the hill, are grasslands. So that is where the Rheinwiesenlager
has been located since spring 1945.
 |
A17 Hechtsheim, at the bottom of this hill was the Rheinwiesenlager |
September 7, 2024
We drove to the cemetery on Wingertsweg and I looked for the memorial plaque. I could not find this one. It was Sunday and there was no one to whom I could ask my questions. A later post on facebook told me that the memorial plaque had been daubed with paint. Perhaps the plaque had been removed for cleaning.
 |
A17 Hechtsheim, cemetery at the Wingertsweg |
 |
A17 Hechtsheim, cemetery at the Wingertsweg |
In conclusion, I prayed God, our Dear Lord, the Alforce to send Love, Light and Peace to the Rheinwiesenlager there, so that of the deceased soldiers and others who participated, the pain is relieved.