Participants in Chisinau summer camp arrange graves of soldiers killed in World War II

“We want peace on earth” – this is the slogan with which 25 young people from Moldova and Germany laid flowers to the Cemetery of German Soldiers located on Doina St in Chisinau. The young people represent two public associations and are participating together in a summer camp taking place in Chisinau during July 18 – August 1, Info-Prim Neo reports. The project “Work for Peace” is supported by Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge – an NGO that looks after the graves of German soldiers killed in the Second World War, who were buried outside Germany. The German volunteers, alongside representatives of the Moldovan-German cultural association “Accente”, cleaned the place and laid flowers in a number of cemeteries where there are graves of German soldiers, including those from Gratiesti, Serpeni, Milestii Mici, and at the memorial complex “Eternitate”. At the Cemetery of German Soldiers situated on Doina St, Mario Mietschke, who came from Germany together with representatives of the association Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, said that these camps allow you to know the people better than in an ordinary vacation trip. Another participant in the camp, Inga Zaim, said Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge aims to establish friendship relations between countries and promotes peace. In Moldova, such a camp was staged for the first time. The next will be organized in 2012. Adalbert von der Rocker, the president of honor of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, said that this cooperation between people from different countries represents a great triumph of democracy and negotiation. “Our peoples had different paths and experiences under dictatorial regimes and we found different ways to freedom. This experience for freedom is very valuable both for me and for you,” he said. Christa Schiewe came to Moldova from Germany to lay flowers at the grave of her father, who was reburied in 2005 at the cemetery on Doina St after brought from Carahasani village, Stefan Voda. “I’m here for the third time and I’m grateful to the Moldovan authorities for keeping the memory of my father and the German soldiers alive,” Christa Schiewe said. Representatives of the two organizations read a joint resolution whereby they render homage to the victims of the world wars. Afterward, Adalbert von der Rocker said a prayer, while young people sang a peace song in three languages – German, Romanian and Russian. According to Sergiu Cataraga, senior lecturer at the Teacher Training University “Ion Creanga”, over 5,000 German soldiers killed in the Second World War were buried at the cemetery located on Doina St. There were over 300 German cemeteries in Moldova, but many of them were destroyed by the Soviet power.