love of homeland and historical awareness
Episode 11 of the journey through the cultural heritage sites
A bicycle is probably the best means of transport for crossing the Oderbruch. It offers the perfect travel speed to let yourself drift, enjoy the marsh landscape and linger here and there. Many smaller cycle paths cross in the vastness of the region and allow a detour to interesting cultural heritage sites. The 630-kilometer-long Neisse-Oder cycle path also runs directly along the Oder. A long-distance cycle path that stretches from the source of the Lusatian Neisse in the Czech Republic to the Baltic Sea. It leads directly through Kienitz, a recently designated cultural heritage site.
Kienitz, a former fishing village on the Oder, was first mentioned in documents in 1234 as "Terra Chinz". Archaeologists assume, however, that higher-lying Oderbruch villages such as Kienitz, which were spared from the seasonal floods of the Oder, were already inhabited in the Neolithic period. However, the place only received national attention at the end of the Second World War. In the early hours of January 31, 1945, Red Army troops crossed the Oder and formed the first bridgehead in what is now Germany. Three months later, after the Battle of Berlin, the war was ended by the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht. The bridgehead and the heavy fighting in the Oderbruch were used as an opportunity to set up a memorial in Kienitz in 1970. Since then, a T-34 tank has stood on a concrete base in the middle of the town. This type of tank is considered the most famous Soviet tank of the Second World War. Between 1940 and 1945 alone, 56.400 units are said to have been built. The enormous number contributed significantly to the victory of the Red Army.
The tank memorial has now become a hotspot for modest tourism in the Oderbruch. The monument ensemble in Kienitz, which is intended to provide information on World War events, also includes the "First World War" memorial, the "Victims 1939-1945" memorial and the memorial stele on Fährstraße, the former bridgehead on the Oder. The memorial sites are looked after by members of the Kienitz local association Heimat und Landschaft e. V. Their legacy is to keep alive the memory and commemoration of the fallen and the suffering of the civilian population. Many fathers and sons did not return to their villages on the Oder after the First World War of 1914-1918. A historical bronze plaque commemorates them - they died "a heroic death for the fatherland".
In the spring of 1945, the Second World War swept through the villages with its brutal reality. The bloodiest battles were fought in the fields of the Oderbruch. Thousands of soldiers and civilians fell victim to them, hundreds of buildings were destroyed. An event to commemorate the fallen takes place at the tank memorial on January 31st of each year. In view of the current geopolitical tensions on the eastern edge of Europe, it cannot be reminded often enough that wars only produce suffering and victims. "This makes the reminder of this part of history all the more important. May this reminder help to ensure that the legacy of destruction is not repeated," said Christine Gambke from the local history association on the occasion of the 2022 memorial event. As a schoolgirl, she was already present at the inauguration of the tank memorial. Christine Gambke recited a poem by Frida Strache from Kienitz, which she wrote in 1984 at the age of 77. Cultural heritage in the Oderbruch is love of home but also an awareness of history.
Commitment to homeland
I stand thoughtfully on the Oder shore,
My gaze goes upstream and downstream.
And memories blow over the flat land,
the thoughts go back far.
Almost forty years of peace in the country;
what a great blessing for humanity!
One reached out his hand to the other,
they did it with strength and skill.
What one of them couldn't do, his friend was there;
So there was a constant helping and striving.
Not the thunder of cannons and war cries –
The song of friendship must live on!
The Oder river flows gently,
the meadows and dikes are green.
Over the water, as blue as the dome of heaven
let us extend a brotherly hand!
Cargo ships move up and down. –
I want to sing the most beautiful songs.
The birds will definitely join in.
Lord, I want to be grateful to you!
People, receive happiness and life.
You won't get it a second time!
Heart and love for the homeland,
my little Kienitz on the Oder beach!
Cultural Heritage Site: Monument ensemble in Kienitz, Straße der Befreiung 18, 15324 Letschin OT Kienitz.
For more information about the Oderbruch Museum and the cultural heritage in the Oderbruch, please see here.