December, 2005 - Nr. 12
Totengedenktag 2005 – Kitchener
by Gerhard Griebenow
On Sunday, November 13, 2005 upwards of 400 to 500 people gathered at the Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener at the site of the graves of the German Prisoners-of-War, who died in Canada, to reflect on their lives.
A furious cold wind driving through the trees, whipping the flags into noisy flapping, was a clear reminder to all that anybody serving his/her country must be prepared to endure the most cruel of conditions (hardships).
It seemed appropriate, therefore, that the beautiful music that framed the ceremony, the songs "Heilig, heilig, heilig" and "Sanctus" sung by the Concordia Choir under the direction of Dr. Alfred Kunz and the Aria of the opera "Xerxes" by Georg Friedrich Händel played by the Transylvania Brass Band under the Direction of Steve Schatz, swept across the audience at the mercy of the elements.
![Honouring all victims of wars, torture and prosecution [photo: Josef Vlardars]](601c-Griebenow.jpg)
The program, which included the opening prayer by Pastor Andreas Pfeiffer of the Pilgrim Lutheran Church of Kitchener, the address by Vice-Consul Christoph Fabis, and the closing prayer by Father Martin Mitulski, pastor of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church of Kitchener was impressively unified in its message: We prayed for forgiveness of Germany’s sins in the two world wars, honoured our fallen soldiers, and paid respect to all victims of wars, of torture, and of political prosecution everywhere. At the same time, we celebrated the welcome and the freedom we have found in our new home-country Canada, and prayed for the wisdom to make wars obsolete in the future.
Christoph Fabis and representatives of the German forces placed a wreath for the German Government, Karen Redman and Andrew Telegdi for the Canadian Government, and John Milloy, Liz Witmer and Jim Breithaupt for the Province of Ontario.
After this, Veterans of the Canadian Forces, and then representatives of the German-Canadian organizations, clubs, churches, and schools from as far away as Windsor and Timmins paid their respects.
For the playing of "Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden" und „Zapfenstreich" everybody in attendance was left with the memory of their own experiences, and the tears that were observed streaming down many faces surely could not solely be blamed on the chilly wind.
After the ceremony at the cemetery over three hundred people gathered in the beautiful "Siebenbürger Halle" of the Transylvania Club to warm up their bodies and to share the memories over coffee and cake. We thank the German Consulate for organizing the ceremony and the Co-operative Council of German-Canadian Clubs of Waterloo County for sponsoring the social gathering.
