In the spirit of international understanding, a memorable meeting between a group of U.S. veterans and former Waffen-SS officer Dr. Gerhard Femppel was arranged last Wednesday near Frankfurt am Main. Thanks are due to U.S. policeman , ex-Marine and book author Andrew Biggio, who by means of collected donations organized trips with U.S. veterans to former war theaters in Europe and made this meeting possible.
Both the U.S. soldiers and Dr. Femppel were pleased about the friendly reunion after almost 80 years. In spite of some communication problems at the beginning, there was an intensive exchange about the events of that time in a conversation lasting several hours. For Dr. Femppel as well as for the U.S. soldiers, this was the first time that an insight into the perspective of the former counterpart was gained. Asked at the end of the event what impressions he gained of his former enemies, Dr. Femppel replied, "I met people today, not enemies."
With this meeting we could set a sign that even our former opponents face the last still living members of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS with respect. With this form of reappraisal, we are trying to establish a viewpoint that questions the current culture of remembrance and enables a new perspective that includes all the warring parties involved at the time and ensures a future perspective in peace.
We are also happy to recommend Andrew Biggio's website:
Adrian Matthes, Erlangen, März 2023
Update 2024: Inzwischen gibt es ein ausführliches Video samt Interview auf Youtube. Ich bedanke mich bei Youtuber „The History Underground“.
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Reunion of former enemies after 78 years