It's about time I presented you with a #mountain in East Frisia! This is the Plytenberg in #Leer. Its total height is an unspeakable 9.00 metres and it reaches its greatest height at 12.56 metres. Amazing, isn't it?

Some believe it was a pagan sacrificial site, others see it as an ancient tomb. However, popular legend has it that it dates back to the time when giants still existed. And this is the story:

Two giantesses once amused themselves on the islands of Baltrum and Juist. They enjoyed the glistening sand in the dunes and packed as much of it as they could hold into their aprons. Then they walked across the mudflats to Emden and walked along the Ems, each on a bank so that the river was between them. But the heavy sand tore their aprons apart and seeped through the holes, and so they each scattered a whole strip along the Ems. This is how the dykes were created.

When they saw Leer, one giantess leapt over to the other in a single bound. Her apron string broke and all the sand fell in a heap. And so the Plytenberg was formed 😊
#HistoryLessonWithBella #Ostfriesland #EastFrisia #nature #trees

At "Heimatmuseum" (local history #museum) in #Leer, #Ostfriesland, taking a look into East Frisia's past.
#EastFrisia #HistoryLessonWithBella #photography

Take a good look at the first picture.
This is its backstory: "On 17 September 1944, a satellite camp of #Neuengamme #ConcentrationCamp was set up on Alter Banter Weg in #Wilhelmshaven. The more than 1,000 male prisoners, who had been selected in the main camp, had to carry out hard labour for the Kriegsmarine shipyard and clean-up work. Some of the barracks in a forced labour camp had previously been fenced in with barbed wire and surrounded by watchtowers.
Without a day off, the prisoners had to work twelve hours a day with completely inadequate food and constant beatings and harassment. The death rate rose rapidly. Just a few weeks after the arrival of the concentration camp prisoners, the city administration was ordered by the navy to provide additional burial areas at the Aldenburg cemetery. The Neuengamme concentration camp death register for the satellite camp in Wilhelmshaven recorded 234 deaths. The actual number of dead was probably higher and is estimated at a maximum of 700."

Now look at the following pictures. Many of us in #Germany do not want history to repeat itself, that's why we take to the streets. Will this change anything, you may ask? Well, probably not, but it helps to feel less lonely, scared and helpless.
#HistoryLessonWithBella #NoAfD #DePol #NoToFascism

Fancy a little #story? A story about this #memorial?
Well, let me tell you about the ‘Sekes Männekes’. These little people (the Sekes Männekes) are said to have once wreaked havoc in the farming community. They slept in holes in the ground during the day and played evil tricks on people at night. One day, the kobolds/#hobgoblins/#leprechauns killed the farmer from "Teufelshof" (devil's farm) because he had been digging for them. In her fear of death, the widow made rich donations to the church.

The kobolds' anger was now directed at the church: one night they pulled the church tower askew with a rope. The people of the town then called on their patron saint, St Pancratius, for help. He appeared to the priest and told him to dig a pit. The Sekes-Männekes were burnt in this pit and have never been seen again since.

A cross was erected in memory of the #kobolds, which still stands at the burial place today.
#HistoryLessonWithBella ... or is this just a #fable?! 😉
#sculpture #bronze

This is the second part of yesterday's #HistoryLessonWithBella (https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/711653813936023737).
Pictures 3 and 4 show you a model of what the camp looked like back then. Picture 2 shows original objects from the camp. And picture 1 shows - and this is my favourite - survivors of the camp.
If you would like to find out more about #Esterwegen Memorial Site (or visit it yourself): https://www.gedenkstaette-esterwegen.de/english/
Thank you for your interest!
#WWII #NeverForget #PleaseRemainHuman #LifeIsPrecious #MoorSoldaten

Here comes another #HistoryLessonWithBella.
At a time when more and more people call for "strong" leaders and want to return to "old values", it is all the more important to remember how much pain this way of thinking can cause (and already has).
This and the next post will take you to the #Esterwegen Memorial Site. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi state operated 15 camps in German #Emsland, which, as places of Nazi terror, were part of the system of the SS, the judiciary and the Wehrmacht. Around 80,000 concentration camp inmates and prisoners suffered in these camps, and well over 100,000 prisoners of war were added during the course of the war. More than 20,000 people from various European countries died in these camps.
Perhaps some of you know the song "Die Moorsoldaten". It was written in one of the camps here. If you don't know it yet, here is the German original with English subtitles: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=kLjydWhhSOo I think it's absolutely heartbreaking.
Image descriptions = more in depth info.
#NeverForget #WWII

This is a 'Bargfred' from the early 17th century. It used to serve as a shelter for the emergency reserve. Buildings of this type were usually erected on a raised area to protect them from water. To protect the reserve from animals, the keep was also surrounded by a moat. It is the oldest type of storage building and is already known from Germanic settlements (around the birth of Christ).
And this has been another #HistoryLessonWithBella 😉
#architecture #history #PeasantLife

I promised you another #HistoryLessonWithBella. However, this one won't bring much joy. It's about #war. Wars that are useless, unjust and only bring pain. So much pain.

This is the #Pozières #Memorial, a World War I memorial which was unveiled in August 1930. It lists the names of 14,657 British and South African #soldiers of the Fifth and Fourth Armies with no known grave who were killed between 21 March 1918 and 7 August 1918, during the German advance known as the #SpringOffensive (21 March–18 July), and the period of Allied consolidation and recovery that followed.

This place is incredibly beautiful and immensely sad. And as a German, I feel very uncomfortable in places like this. Because Germany has brought a lot of suffering into the world. Yes, many other countries have done so too and still do today, but I can only speak from the perspective of a German. I feel ashamed, sad and angry.Why can't we see each other as equals? What is so difficult about being respectful towards all people? What is there to gain from war? I know I won't find answers here. I just feel so helpless ...

Sorry, this is not a beautiful post. But it is one that matters to me. Because of what we have done to eachother. And still do. Look at it!

And by the way: Many of the dead here were just 18 or 19 years old. They were children!
#WWI #Somme #BellaEnVacances #StopWars

Let's have another quick #HistoryLessonWithBella. Let's talk about #WWII ...
I took these pictures at 'Utah Beach'. This was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. This year, several festivities will take place in the area (it's been 80 years): https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/highlight/80th-anniversary-of-d-day/
If you want to find out more about #UtahBeach: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Beach
#BellaEnVacances

This is the "Château de Flamanville". It was built between 1654 and 1658 on the ruins of a manor house by Hervé Basan, who wanted a residence worthy of his title of marquis, recently awarded by Louis XIV. The inauguration of the #château in the summer of 1658 gave rise to a sumptuous celebration. I would have loved to see this extravaganza ;)
Today the main building is empty while the buildings in the courtyards are used as holiday homes.
#BellaEnVacances #HistoryLessonWithBella #castle