Willicher Peace Cross

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The Willich Peace Cross (2015)

The Willich Peace Cross is a five meter high floor cross in a simple design made of wood with the inscription "Men pray for peace" at the intersection of Martin-Rieffert-Straße, Neusser Straße and Ritterstraße in Willich .

Historical background

Marked by the horrors of the Second World War, Willich citizens reflected on their traditions and religious values. In March 1946 the local association of the Kolping family was brought back to life and in August 1947 a local association of the Catholic Workers' Movement (KAB) was founded.

In nearby Krefeld, the Bishop of Aachen, Johannes Joseph van der Velden , together with the Catholic Men's Movement (KMB) founded by former prisoners of war, called for the “Crusade of Peace”. The Aachen Peace Cross comes from this appeal . This appeal was also received in Willich and formed the basis for setting up the Peace Cross.

Established in 1947

During mass on the morning of Passion Sunday, March 23, 1947, Bishop Johannes Joseph van der Velden read out the call to take part in the pilgrimage to Aachen in the parish church of St. Catherine in Willich. This increased the number of participants in the planned cross procession in Willich. The following night at 11 p.m., several men led by the parish priest carried a five-meter-high and seven hundredweight wooden cross from the church through the village to the intersection of Martin-Rieffert-Strasse, Neusser Strasse and Ritterstrasse. A group of 800 men followed them singing, many of them war invalids . The symbol of faith was erected by hand in front of a group of trees. Wilhelm Brandenburg, chaplain in Willich from 1946 to 1948, explained the inscription in the crossbar "Men pray for peace". In the post-war period, which was marked by hunger and need, the cross was a symbol of people's longing for inner and outer peace. Pastor Schuwerack blessed the cross, and the all-male group moved back to the church.

This symbolic act was initiated by the Catholic parish and pastor Schuwerack and, two years after the end of the war, was intended to permanently call for peace. The oak was donated by the farmer Hans Binger, the cross was designed by the wheelwright Peter Dohmganz. In the period that followed, the cross was the main destination of the annual Corpus Christi procession . Since the amalgamation of the municipalities of Willich and Schiefbahn, this has only been carried out in the even years in Willich and in the odd years in the district of Schiefbahn.

Restoration and re-installation in 2015

In the summer of 2014 the cross was dismantled; a re-installation was questionable due to the neglected property. Thanks to the commitment of the residents in cooperation with the city of Willich, it was possible to redesign the area made available by the property owner. On Holy Saturday, April 4, 2015, the cross was put up again by the volunteer fire brigade after it had been restored by Willich craftsmen. The mayor of the city gave a speech and recalled the reason for the list.

Monument protection 2016

On May 12, 2016, the Willich city council decided unanimously to place the cross under monument protection. He followed the opinion of the Office for Monument Preservation in the Rhineland that the cross was of considerable importance for Willich and the diocese of Aachen. It is “a testimony to the much-noticed atonement and peace actions of the Catholic Men's Work and the Catholic Youth Workers in the Diocese of Aachen 1945-47” and therefore “significant for human history. For the city of Willich, it illustrates in its original form and at the original location a remarkable aspect of local history immediately after the Second World War. There is therefore a public interest in its preservation for scientific, here historical reasons. "

Procession for the 70th anniversary 2017

On April 8, 2017, around 300 people gathered for the memorial procession on the market square in front of the parish church of St. Katharina. Deacon Friedhelm Messerschmidt, pastor Rolf Klein and male pastor Mario Schleypen from the diocese of Aachen first recalled the historical significance of the cross. The procession led over the same route as at that time to the formation. Intercessions were made in front of the cross, including from Marita Blüm, née Binger, whose father donated the oak in 1947, and her husband Norbert Blüm .

Press coverage

Series The establishment of the Willich Peace Cross by Hans Kaiser in the Rheinische Post :

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Willich Compact, June 2015, Hans Kaiser
  2. ↑ Joachim Peters: ... should remain a disruptive factor: The Aachen Peace Cross was created 60 years ago , Aachener Zeitung , February 1, 2007 on the homepage of Christoph Stender
  3. ↑ Willich Compact, June 2015, Hans Kaiser
  4. ↑ The establishment of the Willich Peace Cross (2): Men pray for peace. In: rp-online.de. January 27, 2016, accessed March 22, 2017 .
  5. ^ Rheinische Post, March 26, 1947
  6. ^ Information from the Willich City Archives, February 11, 2015
  7. ^ Rheinische Post, April 8, 2015
  8. ^ City of Willich: The Willich Peace Cross becomes an official memorial , Rheinische Post, May 14, 2016
  9. ↑ Monument Protection Peace Cross? , City of Willich, May 3, 2016
  10. ^ Willi Schöfer: With lights against violence and persecution , Westdeutsche Zeitung , April 10, 2017
  11. ^ Willi Schöfer: City of Willich: Memorial procession to the Peace Cross , RP Online, April 10, 2017

Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 40.2 "  N , 6 ° 33 ′ 17.8"  E