Warrior club Wörth: Six generations of contemporary history

Created: 11/29/2022, 11:00 am

Solemn service on the anniversary of the war in Wörth, accompanied by flag delegations from the Moosrösl rifle club, the Wörth warriors' and soldiers' club (left side) and the Hörlkofen fire brigade and Hörlkofen warriors' and soldiers' club (right side).

In the foreground the wreath that is laid at the end of the commemoration at the war memorial.

© Clarissa Höschel

The Wörth Warriors and Soldiers Association looks back on 150 years.

The oldest club in town through the ages: A look back.

Wörth

– The Wörth Warriors and Soldiers Association looks back on 150 years of eventful history.

Due to its objective alone, it is closely linked to the history surrounding it.

Last but not least, the two memorials on the north side of the Wörther Cemetery bear witness to this, reminding of past war events as reminders set in stone.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, whose participants are commemorated by the veterans' plaque to the left of the stairs, ushered in a new, promising chapter in history with the subsequent founding of the German Empire.

During this time, the Wörther warriors, veterans and comrades-in-arms association was created with the aim of preserving the memory of the fallen and supporting the bereaved.

But no sooner had industrialization made people's lives a little less difficult than the First World War broke out in 1914.

Again, the warrior association is a helper in need, not least because numerous members from their own ranks have to go into the field, whose relatives and surviving dependents often enough not only lose a person, but also their economic basis.

In order to preserve the memory of these comrades in pictures, after the war the association designed a large, framed plaque with a total of 40 portrait photographs of the fallen and deceased soldiers.

Shortly afterwards, in 1922, the Wörth war memorial was erected and inaugurated.

Maria is enthroned on a stone pillar as Patrona Bavariae, underneath is a stone block with four name plaques under an iron cross, one for each cardinal point.

In this way, the names of the fallen and missing should also be remembered by future generations.

But these generations experience difficult times again: The economic crises of the Weimar Republic go hand in hand with the strengthening of National Socialism, which with its policy of conformity also affects the warrior associations, which now as the Kyffhäuser League have to lead a life regulated and controlled from above.

Independent club activities are prohibited, documents and props are often hidden or even destroyed in order to prevent the National Socialists from accessing them.

In 1939 war broke out again, and once again numerous townsfolk went into the field.

Not everyone will be lucky enough to return home unharmed.

After the end of the war, public life was initially idle;

It is only slowly recovering - and with it the club life.

During this time, the warrior association primarily devoted itself to the non-political cultivation of comradeship and the unbureaucratic support of the numerous needy people from their own environment.

The commemorative plaque put together more than 100 years ago shows 40 photos of fallen comrades.

The original panel with a wooden frame is owned by Georg Gruber.

© Clarissa Höschel

In 1952, the Hörlkofen comrades left the Wörth club to found their own warriors' club.

Although this initially means a slump in the number of members for Wörth, this does not detract from the close comradely bond.

In 1971 - the association has since been renamed the Wörth Warriors' and Soldiers' Association - the war memorial is renovated and expanded to include the names of those who died or were missing in World War II.

At that time, however, the war was already a long time ago, the young generation was growing up in peace and freedom, and the older ones were enjoying the country, which had been rebuilt and was now living in prosperity.

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In October 1974, the association celebrated its 100th anniversary with a church procession, farmer's fair and commemoration at the war memorial with the laying of a wreath.

18 clubs take part in the celebrations and make this anniversary an event that reaches far beyond the community boundaries.

In 1984, the association decided to buy a new flag, which was dedicated at a festival service under the sponsorship of the Hörlkofen comrades.

It is also the first major event where members appear in their new uniform holiday attire.

In May 2000 the association celebrates its 125th anniversary, which leads to a gratifying increase in membership in the following years.

After that, the numbers drop slowly but steadily, because more members die than new ones can be won.

In February 2022, the geopolitical situation changed almost overnight.

Since then, warrior and soldier associations have repositioned themselves in order to be able to continue to do justice to their historical task of remembering the war, commemorating the dead and admonishing for peace.

This current situation was also the focus of this year's Warrior's Day, which was celebrated with a service followed by a commemoration of the dead at the war memorial.

He was accompanied by the flag delegations of the Moosrösl rifle club, the Wörth warriors' and soldiers' association, the Hörlkofen volunteer fire brigade and the Hörlkofen warriors' and soldiers' association;

the Kirchdorf brass band provided the appropriate musical accompaniment to the festivities.

Norbert Popp, Chairman of the Wörther Comrades, formulated the new challenge in his speech in front of the war memorial: Peace, freedom and democracy are no longer a matter of course, but valuable achievements that must be actively preserved and defended.

This is what the Warriors and Soldiers Association will stand for more than ever in the future.

By Clarissa Höschel