Grenzen erleben

The theme of the Freiburg Saturday University for the spring semester of 2026 is "Nachbar Frankreich."

At the opening of the Studium Generale for the 2026 summer semester, its director, Prof. Werner Frick, pointed out that the 250th anniversary of the United States would have been the natural choice for the Saturday lectures. For obvious reasons, that idea was set aside. Instead, the committee opted for the topic "Neighbor France."

Dr. Claire Demesmay opened the lecture series with "Experiencing Borders - Between Openness and Delimitation."

Claire delivered her talk with verve and charm, what else?

In the European Union, border regions hold particular significance, as they cover 40% of the territory and are home to 30% of the population. They account for roughly one-third of the EU's gross domestic product. The strategic role of border regions is becoming increasingly apparent. It is there that the strengths and weaknesses of European integration come to light.

Since the Peace of Westphalia, sovereign nations in Europe have developed, drawing borders to strengthen national cohesion. These legally defined lines served to stabilize the balance of power.

The result of this nation-state system was bloody wars in Europe, almost always intended to shift borders.

After World War II, far-sighted European statesmen such as Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi, and Konrad Adenauer concluded that enough is enough. They underlined what a high-ranking Brandenburg official had noted after the devastating Thirty Years' War, "We found the entire country [i.e., Europe] in such a pitiful state that one must feel greater compassion for the innocent people everywhere than can be adequately expressed in writing." Or, to put it more bluntly, using an analogy from farming, "Die Karre ist tief in den Koth geschoben (The cart has been pushed deep into the shit)."

Already in 1667, Prussia's Great Elector Frederick William drew his conclusion in his political testament: Der Friede ernährt, der Krieg aber verzehrt (Peace nourishes, but war consumes).

The Treaties of Rome, signed on March 25, 1957, by France, West Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries, established the European Economic Community. They marked the shift from cooperation to integration.

As a result, national borders came to be seen as places of encounter and cross-border cooperation, and border regions became key players in European integration.

The Schengen Agreement of 1985, initially signed by Germany, France, and the Benelux states, marked the beginning of the dismantling of border controls and the creation of a common European space. With the abolition of internal borders, the external borders became, in the wake of migrant flows, the line of defense for the European space.

But, right-wing parties are questioning the system of external borders and, caught in the tension between security and mobility, are calling for the reintroduction of internal border controls, thereby following a logic of separation that contradicts the desire for cooperation and togetherness.

In fact, there are still obstacles to mobility, particularly between France and Germany, which are largely due to differences in wages and purchasing power on the other side of the non-existent "border". On the French side, pressure on the real estate market from German neighbors is becoming noticeable.

Recruiting qualified workers is also becoming difficult because proficiency in the other country's language is declining.

In a policy of small steps, Strasbourg MEP Brigitte Klinkert has presented concrete recommendations to strengthen cross-border cooperation.

- This includes mutual recognition of environmental stickers. 

- Educational partnerships are to be intensified. 

- Cross-border companies are to receive special status within the framework of European inter-programs. 

- The population on both sides of the border is to be involved in shaping their "shared living space" through local events.

Then Claire presented her study, in which she closely accompanied 12 families from the Saar-Mosel region between October 2024 and May 2025 and interviewed them about their situation in the border region.

The results presented were interesting, but not conclusive, for they can hardly be applied to the situation along the Rhine between Baden and Alsace. While Germans in the Saar region cross the border to France almost daily, the French limit their border crossings to twice a week. 

One interviewee said, "So the point is, there are no borders." You go left and right- sometimes you're in Germany, sometimes in France; Dad is French, Mom is German. What I mean is, this is completely normal; for us, I think it's perfectly natural. When you cross the street, you immediately come to this side, and on the other side is simply France.

As a "bone of contention" between France and Germany, the Saar region has a history similar to that of Alsace, though with the opposite outcome and a shorter duration.

In 1919, following World War I, the Saar region was separated from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles and placed under League of Nations administration for 15 years, while France gained control of the coal mines.

Following the "occupation period," the people of the Saarland voted in a 1935 plebiscite to rejoin Germany, with an overwhelming 90% majority.

After World War II, a similar procedure took place. The Saar region, occupied by France, became the Saar Protectorate in 1947. The Saar was politically separated from Germany and economically tied to France. The people of the Saarland had their own citizenship and even their own Olympic team. 

Konrad Adenauer, the fox, saw the Saar as a stumbling block in Franco-German relations and pushed for a referendum on the Saar Statute. The key points were:

- The Saar would not return to Germany immediately
- It would become a "European territory" under the authority of the Western European Union
- It would be politically autonomous but economically linked to France

The people of the Saar went to the polls on October 23, 1955. 

Commentators viewed the acceptance of the Saar Statute as a cementing of the status quo under French influence. A "no," on the other hand, was widely understood as a desire to join West Germany. 

The referendum result was clear: 67% voted "no."

 

After brief negotiations, the Saar became a new state of the Federal Republic of Germany on January 1, 1957. 

One of the biggest differences between the Saar and Baden is not the width of the Rhine River separating France and Germany, compared with the small Saar being the border river between France and Germany at only a few points. Traditionally, in the Saarland, French is the first foreign language taught in many high schools, followed by English. In contrast, in Southern Baden, the standard German model applies: English is almost always the mandatory first foreign language starting in the 5th grade. French usually comes as the second foreign language starting in 6th grade or later.
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Alter

is translated as "Old Age," and was the title of an exhibition at the Graphic Arts Collection of Freiburg's Augustinermuseum. This was last year, but Red Baron only reports today.

Was I hesitating? In the meantime, I became 90 and surely experienced the aging process.

The stages of a man's life

While visiting the exhibitions at the Graphics Art Gallery, I took many photos. The works I feature in this blog are of high artistic quality or have personally impressed me. Interestingly, both criteria often apply.

Johann Heinrich Lipps's four portraits of the English poet John Milton, 1779

John Milton, through the ages, is another example of the stages in a man's life. This print first appeared in 1781 in Johann Kasper's Fragments on Lavater's Physiognomy, in which the author instructs readers to attribute particular character traits to specific facial features and body shapes.

Here is a print from 1498, the late Middle Ages, when people were deeply rooted in their faith. Life is a pilgrimage, rosary in his right hand. Barefoot and looking toward heaven, the frail old man, leaning on a walking stick, moves forward cautiously.

Albrecht Dürer, Paul the Apostle, 1514

The master created a copperplate engraving depicting the apostle as a wise old man...

©Immanuel Giel/Wikipedia

... and here is Dürer's 1526 oil painting showing St. Mark and St. Paul holding the Bible. It looks like Mark still doesn't trust that Saul had changed into Paul. In Acts 15, 36-41, their relation is highly compromised: "36 Some time later, Paul said to [his longtime confidant] Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches."

Engraving after Holbein by an unknown artist, 1521

It is a common stereotype that some old men are wise, but all are frail and obstinate, which certainly applies to Erasmus of Rotterdam, and he was quarrelsome, too, a real grouch.

Johann Wilhelm Baur, Old Age, around 1670

Skulls, hourglasses, and fading flowers symbolize life's impermanence: Memento mori.

You, good old man, the grave is already open here and longs for you.

The hourglass of your time has nearly run out. 

Just put your house in order and send yourself to death. 

It will soon be over for you.

Old age is joyless, full of listlessness and ailments.

To young children, it is a source of mockery and a burden upon the earth.

In this second stage of childhood, indeed, everything in the world is consumed by old age:
trees, houses, buildings, and paintings.

Crispyn de Passe, Susanna in the Bath, and the two Old Men around 1600

If they are frail, non obstat, that they are still lechers.

Behold Susanna, thrice fortunate, blessed with offspring,
she who is no less mindful of her pure chastity,
suffers the schemes of shameful old men who desire her,
while she believes she is washing her limbs in the flowing water

Benjamin Vautier, Deaf, but smart, before 1884

Two men converse by a tiled stove. The older, nearly toothless man has made himself comfortable in a wingback chair and leans forward to better hear the younger man, who has moved closer, apparently seeking the older man's advice.

Hans Thoma, Old Mountain Man, 1892

This engraving was part of a Hans Thoma Exhibition at the Augustinermuseum in 2025. No, this is not Saint Paul, but the baldness of the figure suggests a learned, wise old man

Albert Welti, The Ages of Man, 1901

This picture is based on Welti's painting, The House of Dreams. It depicts people of different generations who are focused on themselves rather than communicating with one another. How modern. Even without the Internet and Social Media, this family lives together but doesn't communicate with each other. The mountain panorama reveals that Welti is Swiss.

Käthe Kollwitz, Self-portrait, 1924

Käthe Kollwitz is known for her somber, at times disturbingly realistic works that situate her between Realism and Expressionism. Based on her personal circumstances and experiences, she developed her distinctive artistic style. Her most famous self-portrait reflects a period of personal crisis in which she was acutely aware of her aging and her waning physical strength. In 1924, Kollwitz drew herself with shadowed, pronounced bags under her eyes, appearing tired and exhausted, grappling with the death of her son.

**

A Just War?

Whenever POTUS predicts the downfall of the United States, he is referring to the Radical Left.

Well, on the other hand, he can rely on and is supported by the Extreme Right, which comes to his defense even when he posts awkward photos portraying him as the savior.

On this, Vice President J. D. Vance, the man to iron out the blunders of his boss, said about Trump's Jesus meme:

People are too stupid to understand the president.

Later, during a Podium discussion, J. D. warned the pope he should be careful when talking about religion.

In a step further, the Speaker of the House, Michel Johnson, taught the Augustinian pope, Augustine's theology:

So, while on his Apostolic journey to Cameroon, the pope retorted:

POTUS hastened to point out:

But Leo XIV doubled down:

A reporter asked, "What do you say, Mr. President? The Catholic bishops put out a statement saying the pope isn't merely exercising his opinion; he's preaching the gospel."

©NDR

Trump answered, "Well, I want him to preach the gospel. I'm all about the gospel, but I have the right to disagree with the pope."

 

Trump didn't learn, but "tripled" down on sharing an "Irish for Trump" post:

Already, Einstein "knew" that God doesn't throw dice; does He play cards now?

War Minister Pete Hegseth "tripled" down, too. During his latest prayer service at the Pentagon, he referred to the combat search-and-rescue mission "Sandy One" in which a downed U.S. fighter pilot was evacuated from Iran. 

Hegseth explained that the prayer he will cite refers to Ezekiel 25:17: "And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them." and has been used during the mission. He asked the audience to pray with him:

The video is only semi-automatic. You possibly have to play with the controls.

Well, what he quoted is actually a passage from Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction."

Her last word was bleeped.

The religious feud is a goldmine for the media, but what Americans are more interested in - because it affects their cost of living - is the inflation triggered by the war in Iran. When asked about it, California Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove said, "I mean, you name it, the prices have gone up. And this Jude, Dr. Jesus, next is wanting to spend $2 billion of your money every single day rather than help you get health care. His ass."

A final quote from the Washington Post, "Trump's unfavorability ratings are stratospheric across the continent as of March surveys by YouGov: 78 percent unfavorable in France, 86 percent in Germany, 80 percent in Italy. Across the continent, 73 percent of Europeans viewed Trump as a threat to peace and security in Europe, according to YouGov polling last summer, just nine percentage points behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's 82 percent."

**

WEAK on Crime

The feud between the Trump Administration and the Pope entered a new phase last Sunday.

Click to enlarge

A reporter asked Trump:

The answer, "Uh, I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess."

Actually, Trump's criticism of Leo on Truth Social reads more like a rearguard action when Elise Ann Allen, author of "Pope Leo XIV, The Biography," said:

 
"Donald Trump is clearly feeling the heat from Leo's recent public condemnations of the Iran war and the need to promote peace over conflict. He is realizing that Leo is emerging as a stronger global figure, and he's trying to remind moderate Catholics why they voted for him. But outbursts like this could backfire as they could further alienate the moderate Catholics on the fence about him. If he's trying to win back Catholic voters, this will only help Leo's cause, not his."

Indeed, Trump slammed the door with his Truth Social broadside on Sunday: "I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do."

On his flight to Algeria, Leo made his standpoint clear, "I don't think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing it. And I will continue to speak out loud against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."

But if his “WEAK on crime” wasn't enough, POTUS went one better a few hours later with the following meme.

The image fits Trump's well-established style, being dense with the basic icons of American patriotism and militarism, foregrounding the flag and the bald eagle, with the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

There are jet planes and bombs bursting in the air and soldiers marching magically, or celestially, through the firmament.

The answer, "I did post it, and I thought that it was me as a doctor.

Late Night host Stephen Colbert doubled,

... and my favorite TV show, Dr. Jesus Medicine Christ.

Regarding the man at Trump's feet, comedian Jimmy Kimmel had an assumption about a similarity ...

... while comedian Jon Stewart flipped out ...

... followed by a strong personal reaction.

Could it be me?

Trump's staunch followers still stick by their president, contradicting him about the meme's origin.

Must be AI or someone.

POTUS had crossed a red line. The image evoking Jesus offended not only Catholics, but it drew harsh criticism from ultra-evangelical Christians, too, who have otherwise expressed near constant support for Trump's decisions.

Following the backlash, no wonder there was TACO*. After 12 hours, the meme was deleted on Truth Social.
*Trump always chickens out

The Washington Post questioned, "Trump and his allies regularly invoke Christianity in their work and campaign messaging. Did Trump blow it all up?"

**

Mitläufer

... are people who, during the Third Reich, were merely ordinary Parteigenossen (PG) of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and thus were not involved in the crimes of the Nazi regime.

Law on Liberation from National Socialism and Militarism of March 5, 1946,
commonly known as the Liberation Act (©Alexander Buschorn/Wikipedia)

After Nazi Germany’s defeat, the victorious Allied powers wanted to denazify the about 8.5 million members of the NSDAP. They established so-called Spruchkammern (denazification tribunals). These ad hoc courts classified all Germans into five categories based on their involvement in Nazi crimes. Here is what Wikipedia knows:

V. Persons Exonerated (German: Entlastete). No sanctions.

IV. Followers (German: Mitläufer). Possible restrictions on travel, employment, and political rights, plus fines.

III. Lesser Offenders (German: Minderbelastete). Placed on probation for two to three years with a list of restrictions. No internment.

II. Offenders: Activists, Militants, and Profiteers, or Incriminated Persons (German: Belastete). Subject to immediate arrest and imprisonment up to ten years, performing reparation or reconstruction work, plus a list of other restrictions.

I. Major Offenders (German: Hauptschuldige). Subject to immediate arrest, death, imprisonment with or without hard labor, plus a list of lesser sanctions.

To reduce the workload of the Spruchkammern, the Allied Control Council decided that members of the NSDAP born after 1919 were exempted because they had been brainwashed. Disabled veterans were also exempted.

Within Category I were the war criminals, whose leaders were convicted during the Nuremberg Trials and executed by hanging.

My loyal readers know that I was born in Essen and spent my early school years in the city on the Ruhr River. At the time, my parents and I lived in the Recklinghausen district, at Goldammerweg 4. There I had a friend named Ursula.

At Goldammerweg 6 lived a family with a son, Wolfgang, who was two years younger than me. My parents were such good friends with neighbors Eugen and Friedel B. that in the summer of 1940, we spent a vacation together at Kühlungsborn on the Baltic Sea.

From the right: Eugen, Friedel, Wolfgang, my mother, and father, Manfred.

Eugen was an architect, athletic, and a member of a fencing club. Friedel, also athletic, was the Westphalian breaststroke champion at the time.

From left to right: Manfred, Wolfgang, and Eugen on a walk on the Kühlungsborn promenade

I often saw my father, an engineer, sitting with Eugen in our living room. As far as I could understand as a five-year-old, they talked a lot about technology, especially cars. I also picked up on the fact that Eugen was a staunch Nazi.

 
He must have convinced my father to join the NSDAP during our Baltic Sea vacation.

Recently, the National Archives partially opened its Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675–1958, and so I was able to make a copy of my father‘s approved membership application.

Application for admission: October 22, 1940; admitted on January 1, 1941

Since I know that our Papi was a thoroughly apolitical person, PG number 8302911 was a Mitläufer.

**

Deus Vult?

Since May 2025, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has hosted unprecedented monthly evangelical worship services at the Pentagon. The war minister’s understanding of Christianity is one that would dominate American life and cast those who disagree with him as God’s enemies.

The worship services have included Doug Wilson, the founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, of which Pete is a member. Wilson has stated that homosexuality should be a crime and that women shouldn't have the right to vote.

Following complaints, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has stated that the services show that Christian personnel are favored over their Jewish, Muslim, or other non-Christian peers in the Department of Defense. These favors would only be given if non-Christians attended the services, which is discriminatory.

Soon after the start of the U.S. war against Iran, there were reports that military leaders told their service members that the war was "part of God's divine plan" and that President Donald Trump was anointed by Jesus. One commander ought to have quoted the Book of Revelation, saying that the war will bring the second coming of Jesus Christ.

A new crusade against Islam that Deus vult?

Multiple members of Congress sent a letter to the military Inspector General stated, “If accurate, these outrageous statements—justifying a war based on interpretations of biblical prophecies, and informing troops that they are risking their lives to advance a specific religious vision—raises not only glaring Constitutional concerns, but potential violations of Department of Defense regulations regarding religious neutrality and breaches of professional obligations and standards expected of military leadership.”

Leading the Operation Epic Fury against Muslim-majority Iran, Pete is in his element as a crusader. So on the Wednesday preceding Palm Sunday, Hegseth prayed for U.S. troops to inflict “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy … We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.”

The War Secretary has repeatedly praised the Crusades and supports the idea of “his” war being a holy war. People who enjoy the "benefits" of Western culture should "thank the crusaders.”

Two of Hegseth's tattoos reference the Crusades
©Gage Skidmore/Wikipedia

Multiple former high-ranking military officials, heads of the chaplain corps, some veterans' groups, current Pentagon staff, and current officers criticize the Pentagon’s shift from historical norms as dangerous. Some of these critics made their statements anonymously, fearing retribution from the Trump administration.

However, retired Army Col. Larry Wilkerson spoke out, “The American military has had a remarkable ride of equanimity and fairness and justice and all manner of good adjectives with regard to religion. It’s done this in a way that’s really remarkable — until now. Hegseth’s actions are totally violative of everything that transpired before it.”

And an anonymous (sic!) said, “If troops are trained to believe that ‘God is on our side,’ what precludes us from doing anything we want to win?

This reminds Red Baron painfully of the buckle the soldiers of the Nazi-Wehrmacht wore, “God is with us”, committing war crimes.

"Gott mit uns" (Nobiscum deus) is a quote from Matthew 1:23 and has served as the motto of King William I of Prussia from 1861 onward. It adorned the buckles of German soldiers until 1945.

However, all concerns about religious freedom and about the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution pale in comparison to Pope Leo XIII’s reply.

Steven Colbert presented the clip on Monday this week.

According to the prophecy of Zechariah (Zech 9:9): “Your king comes to you … humble and riding on a donkey.” By not entering Jerusalem on a horse, Jesus makes it clear that he is not the expected warlike Messiah to liberate the Jewish people from Roman occupation. He is the king of peace.

Still, many in the crowd hoped for a Davidic king who would overthrow Rome, and cried, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna*!”
*Meaning Save us!

Instead, we read further (Zech 9:10), “And I will cut off the [war] chariot from Ephraim, and the horse (sic!) from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”

Later, at his arrest, Jesus tells his disciples, “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt 26:52)
**

The Langemarck Myth

Starting in 1946, Red Baron attended a high school in Hamburg that had been founded in 1944 as the Langemarck School.

That is why I was particularly interested in a traveling exhibition of a joint remembrance-and-peace project by the Belgian municipality of Langemark, the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, and the University of Kent. The exhibition has been and will be shown in cities with streets named Langemarck.

Veterans wrote about their romanticized memories.

Early in the First World War, on November 10, 1914, German troops attacked the Allied front near Langemark* in Belgium. More than 2,000 young, inexperienced recruits lost their lives. From this military defeat emerged the "Langemarck Myth" as a symbol of the supposed willingness of German youth to make sacrifices.
*In German, an ungrammatical "c" was added to the original name

Commemorative ceremonies, publications, monuments, and street names emerged in the postwar period.

Following the French Campaign, the Daily Order for Langemarck Day 1940, signed
by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (OKH), Walther von Brauchitsch.

Young men willing to sacrifice themselves for their country were exactly what the Nazis needed for their Wehrmacht.

Der Führer visiting the Langemarck site in 1940

The regime permanently anchored the "Langemarck Myth" in the public sphere. 

Macabre: During World War II, young Flemish men were invited
to enlist in the Langemarck Assault Brigade of the Waffen-SS.

Across Germany, more than 30 streets are named after the small Belgian village of Langemarck.

An exhibition at the Freiburg city archives took the material from the traveling exhibition and expanded it to include information about the unique situation in Freiburg.

Admiral-Spee-Straße and Langemarckstraße in Freiburg's Heldenviertel

Initially, the Höllentalbahn, climbing the heights of the Black Forest, ran through the heart of the Wiehre district* at street level. As traffic increased, the required railroad crossings became increasingly problematic.

*Red Baron lives here

On the right, the four-lane Baslerstraße passes under the north-south
Rhine Valley Railway and, further up, the newly built Höllental line.
Note the undeveloped area between Basler Straße, the railroad bypass,
and Merzhauser Straße running through the photo diagonally.

Consequently, the Reichsbahn decided to reroute the Höllental line, featuring cuttings and bridges along the edge of the Wiehre district. Construction started in 1930, and trains began operating in 1934.

The zoning plan for the area west of Merzhauser Straße includes streets named after "heroes" and battle sites from World War I. Consequently, the Freiburges called this part of town Heldenviertel. 

 In 1996, a citizens' group drew attention to this fact.

      

In 1934, the streets in this neighborhood were named after battles, places, and soldiers from World War I. The names of the fallen, who were exploited for the ideological purposes of the Nazi regime, serve as a reminder of the importance of peace and international understanding.

Meet the heroes

Calls to rename the streets grew louder, but this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the name is erased; on the other, residents are forced to change their addresses, which involves effort and expenses.

One additional argument for retaining the "warlike" street names in the Heldenviertel is that people and places are part of our (inglorious) German history that must not be forgotten.

In 2012, Freiburg's city council engaged a commission of experts to assess the names of Freiburg's streets in terms of persecution of minorities, dictatorship, antisemitism, militarism, nationalism, chauvinism, and colonialism. They cautiously proposed to rename a dozen streets. Among those was the Gallwitzstraße in the Heldenviertel.

Max von Gallwitz (1852–1937) was a general in the First World War. He strongly supported the Dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back myth) and was a revisionist of the Treaty of Versailles, viewing it as a Schanddiktat (dictate of shame).

Did they overdo it? Who will read those two loaded explanatory signs?

After World War II, contested street signs were often supplemented with explanatory notes, as was the case in Bad Wildungen.

**