A4 Büderich (Wesel)
May 8, 2023
From our hometown in the Netherlands we drove in a few hours to the first destination
of this trip in Germany. South of Büderich we looked for the first Rheinwiesenlager.
Because of the street names "Zum Kolk" and "Im Kolk" that were still
confusing to us, I did not find the memorial I was looking for. Several streets often
have the same names. Zum Kolk is located in the former Rheinwiesenlager near a stream
"Breite Wardtley". We are concerned with the original
meadows or fields and we considered a memorial as a bonus. A memorial often gets so
much attention, but the fields where the encampments were located will hardly be
consciously visited. That's where we had to go, to those fields.
In the Meerfeld, at the intersection of the streets "Zum Kolk" there we were
in the middle of the fields of the former encampments.
Here we prayed to God, our Lord, the Almighty and asked to bring Love, Light and
Peace to the fallen in this heavily burdened Rheinwiesenlager of 1945.
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A4 Büderich, Meerfeld |
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A4-Büderich 2024 |
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A4 Büderich, Zum Kolk |
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A4 Büderich, 1945, the Breite Wardtley stream in the Rheinwiesenlager |
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A4 Büderich, Zum Kolk, The Breite Wardtley runs under the bushes |
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A4 Büderich, Breite Wardtley |
May 9, 2024
A year later, on Ascension Day, we were on the road again through Germany and visited
the southern outskirts of Büderich for the second time. The Breidte Wardley stream
flowed under the bushes, adjacent to the backyards of the houses in the photo above.
Further on the Zum Kolk, in the third photo under the group of trees, we found the
memorial (Mahnmal) of the Rheinwiesenlager. So if you search the internet for the
Rheinwiesenlager, you won"t find a Kriegsgefangenenlager or Auffanglager (see 1st
photo) and it doesn"t work the other way around either. Kriegsgefangenenlager and
Auffanglager are finally a less loaded description.
For the sake of clarity, the translation of a memorial into German is often Monument,
but the word Mahnmal is also often used. This also contains the Dutch word
(aan-)manen. That gives the word Mahnmal more meaning: remember, but it must not
happen again!
I had just taken some pictures when a group of about 15 people on bicycles arrived.
They stopped for lunch and we started talking. One of the cyclists came from
Büderich and it soon became clear that he knew nothing about the
Rheinwiesenlager. The men really needed their rest, because they stayed there for a
while chatting and occasionally treated each other to a piece of sausage or cheese
they had brought with them. And we were treated too.
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A4 Büderich, Mahnmal |
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A4 Büderich, memorial |
This Mahnmal received some extra attention in the form of a prayer for the deceased,
who are commemorated here.
I asked God, our Lord, the Alpower, to cover this Rheinwiesenlager with Love, Light
and Peace for the deceased and other victims of the suffering people.