Düsseldorf – June 2017

4 June 2017

I have often been a guest in North Rhine-Westphalia – Aachen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Grevenbroich, Kaarst, Cologne, Neuss, Wuppertal, … I always feel warmly welcomed when the friendly family hosts me, putting together an enormously wide-ranging offer for very conscious viewing for me and my camera lens.

This time, however, it is something very special. The journey to Krefeld, Hürtgenwald, to the military cemetery – this is where my grandfather, who died at the Battle of Aachen in 1942, sleeps. I never saw him alive. Soldier in the Second World War. End. The search for the grave does not turn out to be easy. I go back to the exit, discover a war graves list with names. Counting high crosses, rows and gravestones – there it is! I found it. And get down on my knees. Touching the ground. Tears water the grass. Scattering peony blossoms planted by grandma. Meditative silence. Give thanks.