Maria Raschke and Klaus Rosenthal live in Bonn, but they are happy to visit their home town of Bunzlau whenever the opportunity arises. In the final days of March this year, they came to Bolesławiec with a group of people from Siegburg at their own expense. It was their third visit to the city, which they had to leave immediately after the end of World War II). Maria was 17 at the time, and Klaus only slightly older.
Both Maria and Klaus are members of the Bunzlau Homeland Group in Siegburg, keenly interested in contacts with Bolesławiec and cooperation with our Bolesławiec Enthusiasts’ Association. In general, they are kind, warm and sociable. Taking advantage of their presence in Bolesławiec, I asked them for a short interview for “Głos Bolesławca.”
How did you feel in the city of your childhood when you came here for the first time after several decades?
Maria Raschke says: – The reconstruction of the market square was a surprise, a pleasant one. When I left the city, I retained a painful image of burned-out townhouses. This was not caused by military operations. The market square was burned by soldiers of the Soviet forces. Concerned for the city and facing the decisive superiority of the advancing Soviet army, the German army left the city without a fight, while the civilian population fled toward Czechoslovakia. The market square was burned only after the fighting had ended. I was therefore delighted to see the rebuilt townhouses.
– What was the city like until 1945?
– The city limits reached the old built-up areas. Where today’s new housing estates are located, and even starting from today’s high-rise building of the “City Hall” toward Wrocław, there were scattered farmhouses, warehouses and meadows. Apart from the hospital, on the right-hand side.
– When walking around the city, do you also experience unpleasant disappointments after all these years?
Klaus Rosenthal says:
– Above all, whenever I come to Bolesławiec, my heart starts beating hard as soon as I enter the city... As for walking, it is – sadly, it must be said – very difficult to walk around this city because of the... pavements. They are terrible, and in some sections they simply do not exist. When walking around the city, one cannot admire the buildings and surroundings because one has to watch one’s step carefully in order not to fall. I lived on what is now Wybickiego Street, which used to be called Martina Opitza Street. I am appalled by the technical condition of the old and once beautiful houses. In general, the appearance of the former stylish townhouses throughout the city is very unfavorable. Besides, there used to be an Opitz monument, a pond with boats and swans, and well-kept parks and squares. New housing estates with rows of standardized box-like blocks and no proper infrastructure cannot offset the overall impression. Well, perhaps I am too sentimental...