The day the terror threat came to Oberursel

May 3, 2015 By 1 Comment

It was Thursday, 30th April, 2015.  I don’t know exactly when I read the message, but the post on Facebook at 5.32am simply read “Does anyone what was happening in Oberursel last night?  SWAT team, explosives unit… where was it and why?”

Just as I was leaving to head into town the local radio answered the “where” part of that question: near Edeka on the Hohemarkstraße.  Somewhere I was about to drive past.  Minutes later as I passed the house number 143, there were police vehicles everywhere.  I estimate that there were about 10 police cars and at least one van containing special equipment.

Hohemarkstrasse 143 in OberurselHohemarkstraße 143 in Oberursel where the arrests took place

Soon information started to come out about the arrests of a couple who had been living there, apparently police had searched a flat and a car, finding explosives and firearms. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Current affairs Tagged With: , , , , , ,

This was once a border

April 21, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Germany was, as most readers will know, at one time split in two halves by the Iron Curtain.

At some points along the “Inner-German Border” there are still some watchtowers, preserved to show the World what the border looked like. But in many parts the border has just disappeared and is part of the landscape.

To make sure that people do not forget just where that border was, many of the roads that cross that point in Germany have had signs erected, commemorating the fact that Germany was divided at those points.

A commemorative sign near Salzwedel at the location of the Inner-German border

This one can be seen between Brome (West) and Mellin (East). It is also about 25km from Salzwedel, the town in Germany that apparently is the furthest from any motorway exit and happens to be on one of the routes that I use each year to travel to the island of Rügen.

Another can be seen on the A20 motorway which follows the coast of the Baltic sea running eastwards from Hamburg.

The border itself was around 1,400km (860 miles) long.

Filed Under: East Germany Tagged With: , , , , ,

35 Years of World Vision in Germany

January 31, 2015 By Leave a Comment

The German branch of World Vision was founded on 15th November, 1979 in Oberursel by Dr. Manfred Kohl.  35 years later the organisation – now based in Friedrichsdorf – opened their doors to celebrate.

For the 35th anniversary they had invited long-serving patrons and a number from the local area, many of whom accepted the invitation to bring along their own children.

Miriam Schuller (left) and Gabriele Rohde (right) with guests roll-playing a micro-credit meeting under the village tree

Miriam Schuller (left) and Gabriele Rohde (right) with guests roll-playing a micro-credit meeting under the village tree

They were welcomed by the event’s host Oliver Müller, who reminded everyone that the organisation’s work would not be possible without the the donors, as well as by the chairman of the executive committee Wilfried Bohlen.  They were followed by the chairman of the board Christoph Waffenschmidt and his deputy Christoph Hilligen, who talked about the work that had taken place during the past 35 years. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Children Tagged With: ,

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