French students explore the history of Rothenburg's soldiers!

French students explore the history of Rothenburg's soldiers!

A small piece of history comes to life when you hear the experiences of Eveline Neumann from Rothenburg. On July 1, 2025, she talks about her 94-year-old mother, who lived a fulfilled life and was able to look forward to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Eveline looks back on her childhood, which she spent with Willi Hirsch, a Wehrmacht soldier who died in the Second World War at the age of 18, while she survived for many years. This is not only the story of loss, but also a reappraisal of the memories that connect today's generation with the horrors of war. Sächsische.de reports that history teacher Matthieu Delatte from Nancy is working on the story of Willi Hirsch with his students and tracing the effects of the war.

By chance, one of Delatte's neighbors came across old documents from Wehrmacht soldiers who lost their lives in Lorraine during the Second World War. This was the starting point for the students, who not only deal with the past, but also get in touch with the surviving relatives of the fallen. The students turned to him Volksbund German War Graves Commission and searched archives to find out more about Willi Hirsch and his story.

The moving research

Through their research, the students found out that Willi Hirsch was born in Rothenburg on May 21, 1926 and died in November 1944. This led them to his relatives, including his niece Doris Mätzke from Spremberg. She gave the students family photos that further round off this moving story. Karin Gerdesius, another descendant, also became aware of the research through a classmate and is now also actively involved.

The students from Nancy planned a trip to Saxony to further document the history of Willi Hirsch on site and to get to know his descendants. In the Rothenburg town hall they handed over personal documents to the relatives, including letters from Willi's sister Elli, which were written in Sütterlin and contained personal wishes. This brought an emotional moment for everyone involved, bringing the humanity of the soldiers to the forefront and showing the importance of keeping these memories alive.

A look into the past

Student engagement is part of a larger context of remembrance culture. In May 2020, Ancestry released a database containing the loss and grave reports of German soldiers from 1939 to 1948. The data comes from the German Federal Archives and is accessible via a search mask. This database is a valuable collection for anyone who wants to learn more about their wartime ancestors, even if not all fallen soldiers are recorded. Loud ancestral history.de The data collection will continue to be supplemented in order to shed light on the fates of the missing soldiers.

The work of remembrance is an important concern of the Volksbund, which campaigns for peace, reconciliation and a united Europe. Every person who lost their life in war has the right to be remembered, even if the circumstances of their actions are tragic. Every loss is a reminder and calls for an honest approach to history in order to prevent future conflicts and create a better world.

Willi Hirsch's personal belongings, which were entrusted to the students, will be handed over to the Rothenburg City Museum to ensure that they are not lost and can serve as evidence of the past for future generations. At a time when war and tyranny still exist, this commitment to remembering is not only important, but necessary.