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Life like in the movies: Erich Küster will soon be celebrating his 102nd birthday!
Erich Küster reflects on his life at the age of 102. Mayor Demirbüken-Wegner is planning celebrations in Reinickendorf.
Life like in the movies: Erich Küster will soon be celebrating his 102nd birthday!
Erich Küster, a remarkable contemporary witness, reflects on his eventful life on the occasion of his almost 102nd birthday and compares it to a film. The 97-year-old looks back on an eventful past that presented him with many challenges. After training as a machinist, he was sent to the Crimea to fight in World War II just two weeks after graduating. There he suffered a leg wound, which spared him the fate of being a Russian prisoner of war reported.
After the war, Küster took different career paths: He worked as a rubble helper, vulcanizer, turner, carpenter, dock worker, crane operator and locksmith. Eventually he became a warehouse and dispatcher. Kuester keeps his social contacts alive, especially through his close girlfriend, with whom he regularly plays bingo and who supports him in his everyday life.
Celebrations for a big birthday
Mayor Emine Demirbüken-Wegner plans to celebrate his 102nd birthday in style. Sexton is optimistic: “It’s not my fault,” he explains happily. These upcoming celebrations testify to the appreciation that the long-time Reinickendorf resident experiences in his community.
But the dark chapters of history in which Küster's generation lived are also often discussed. An example of this is the discussion surrounding the shooting of prisoners in Ellwangen, associated with the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division “Götz von Berlechingen”. In the final days of the war, the SS force withdrew from the city under dramatic circumstances, leading to a wide range of reports about their activities. On the night of April 22nd to 23rd, 1945, the last units left the city explained in detail.
The reports describe that smaller SS units withdrew on the afternoon of April 22, 1945 and female civilians were still seen on the streets. However, little is revealed in the reports about the shootings, making research interests on these topics all the more extensive.
Research military units
An important aspect of processing these stories is the location-specific research into the German troops in the Second World War. The Federal Archives offers extensive opportunities for such research needs, ranging from local research to the investigation of Nazi war crimes. But the research is complex and requires access to military historical holdings, which are often only sparsely preserved. This explains the Federal Archives.
Situation maps, which can be found in the inventory of the Wehrmacht High Command, enable detailed identification of troop units and their stationing during the war. Historians and interested parties can gain a better understanding of the events of that dark chapter in German history through meticulous evaluations of the documents.
In the midst of all these reflections, Erich Küster remains a living witness to history, looking back on his experiences with joy while at the same time emphasizing the importance of remembering the past.