Röster från Ruhr (1968) - full transcript

from the Archive of

Deutsche Kinemathek

foundation

In the Ruhr region

In the Ruhr region

which is around 60 km

long and 25km wide

there are 12 cities.

6.5 million people

live here

I work in the iron-

and steel tube works.

Our families are

in Turkey.

I work in the iron-

and steel tube works

at the automatic system.

I earn 5 Mark 25

per hour.

I have been saving up,

thank God!

My kids and family

are in my homeland,

they are well.

My work is very good.

We live in barracks.

Beginning of next year,

I want to go home

if Allah is willing.

This is Karl Heinz

Oppenberg, a saddler.

He has an hourly wage

of 4 Marks 50.

As far as I am concerned,

I can say that I

have worked for 33 years

at the Schattbacher

Rosenblumendelle

or respectively

Hagenbeck.

In 1934 I, was encouraged

to work below ground

as a builder,

a bricklayer.

There I carried out

mining operations myself

as a so called "Lehr"..

"Lehrhauer".

and as a "Gedingeschrippe".

Had carried out almost

all mining operations.

Then during the war,

as the big war

was raging here

and the houses were

being destroyed

by the Allied' bombings,

I was brought in for the

construction of houses,

meaning repairs in the

mining workers' apartments.

There one experienced

and saw a lot:

how they rebuilt

their apartments

to find themselves

shelter again.

The whole time,

I myself am

a staff council member

in a metal cast factory.

From my work as a mining

worker under ground,

I can also talk about the

Schottanlage Hagenbeck:

In the year 1939,

just before Christmas,

as is usual,

happen in the mining work

bigger accidents before

the Christmas holidays.

This is a sign that

the miner in this

month of December

works especially hard

time and time again

to have a lot of money

for the family vacation

and to make good

Christmas presents.

On the other hand,

Hagenbeck,

5 miners were killed

In the seam "Sonnenschein"

(sun shine).

Of them, we have only

gotten out two, dead.

That means

they were buried there

in the Essen region.

The three other comrades

are still lying

under ground

because there had been

no way of rescuing them

no way at all

to get to the dead

comrades.

The whole

mountain range

of the mine

was collapsed and

again and again

new breaks showed.

The administration however

had to leave the entire

rescue area

and still no coal was

mined for

in that area.

Have been living here

for around thirty years.

and there is a

landfill nearby

where the stones

from the mine

are driven off.

It has been burning

since '47 or '46.

And even though the

whole neighborhood

has complained

about it,

and the city administration

has tried everything,

with water and

things like that,

they don't succeed

in extinguishing it.

Now they have moved

on to

clearing away

the landfill.

And when the excavators

are working over there,

clouds rise up

and dirty everything

with dust and dirt.

The neighborhood

has always complained

but there's nothing

to be done

until the landfill

is gone.

Now half of it has

been cleared away.

Hopefully then

we will have

peace

The humans in

this world

have everything at

their disposal

from the natural sciences

to the technology,

the sciences.

The humans also have

at their disposal

to help other human

beings

in their social and

personal needs.

To be in charge of all

things in this world

one however needs

a crucially decisive

amount of freedom.

And this freedom

we Christians have

to make believable

in this world

especially through

our behavior.

Freedom

is not just the

freedom of thought.

Freedom is not just

a vague feeling.

What freedom is,

is determined

there and then.

That's why the Christian

has to decide there and then.

He has to make believable

there and then

what freedom is.

The denomination

to Jesus Christ

doesn't exist

in a vacuum.

Therefore it is

regrettable

what we have to read

in our church newspaper

"Der Weg" (the way).

In this newspaper

that at any rate

is one of the most

important

newspapers of our

regional church,

is reported how

a Swedish priest

goes to the factory

to inform himself

there and then

about the workers'

social problems.

But then there is written

the following statement:

"Whether the sincere

efforts

of the church

for the workers

will amount to visible

results for the communities

is uncertain.

The American evangelist

Billy Graham however

addresses many people

in mass events

without a regard

for specific problems

of the individual

and in this way

calls for the

the denomination

to Jesus Christ

with success.

Here we have to ask:

"Is this possible?

To reach the denomination

of Jesus Christ

with no specific regard

for the problems

of the individual?

Does this denomination

exist in a vacuum?

What's more important?

A mass event

where the American

evangelist Billy Graham

gathers together

thousands of people

in front of his

microphones?

Or

the Christians' efforts

around the people's

social problems

in our society

where one does

not immediately

see a great and

apparent result.

Christians have

to take care

of the social problems

with calmness

and perseverance.

Here and there

they can make their

freedom believable.

But if Christians

aren't capable of

dealing with

social questions,

then also their

belief and denomination

to Jesus Christ

is without worth.

We however know

that Christ has given

us the freedom

the freedom, to deal

with these problems

and that's why we

have to make use of

this freedom.

Grabich,

formerly a miner,

was part of the red

Ruhr Army in 1920.

Yes, you want

from me

some pictures

from the past

and especially from

the Kapp-Putsch

and how it played out

here in the Ruhr area

I ask you to consider

that since then

yes 47 years have passed

since this time.

I stand in the

eightieth year of life

and that then

the memory

isn't so fresh

anymore

as it would have been

20 maybe 30 years ago.

But as good as

I can remember,

I will describe some

details from back then.

Already the year 1920

confronted the workers

with difficult

big questions.

The workers'- and

soldiers' councils

that were founded

after the collapse

in 1918

had long been

disposed off.

The reaction had

recovered

and came crawling

out of its mouse hole

and was soon again

firmly in the saddle.

Black clouds were

looming over Germany.

Fascist organizations

sprouted up.

"Einwohnerwehren",

organisations like

like "Konsul"

"Orgesch"

"Stahlhelm" (steel helmet)

and volunteer corps

were formed everywhere

to protect the alleged

civil freedom.

Besides the

100.000 man army

which was granted

to the Germans

by the peace treaty

a so called black

"Reichswehr" was formed.

The same hired

volunteers

which were

briefly drilled

and always replaced

with new contingents.

The central point

of the training

and the trade was

the fortress Küstrin.

A prematurely

attempted coup

from there

made

the entire world

sit up

and revealed

the military's

secret plans.

The ruling circles were

very shocked

about this coup

which to them

seemed premature

and had it

suppressed.

The 13th of March

Kapp and Lüttwitz

marched into Berlin

with their white troops,

declared the government

for deposed

and took over the power

and declared

martial law.

The previous government

of Ebert, Scheidemann,

Noske

and others had to flee

and settled down

in Stuttgart.

I was given the order

to destroy the

police warehouse

on Bottroper Street

Difficult to access

here because of a

railway embankment

in front.

The security police

had settled here.

Because a total

attack

wouldn't achieve anything,

I ordered a bypass

behind the old

Jewish cemetery

on Hammerstreet.

Encircled like this,

they had no choice but

to flee towards

Bottrop.

But obvious weapon

material and ammunition

fell into our hands.

Leaving behind an

appropriate garrison,

we advanced

against Mühlheim.

There, free corps' Schulz

commanding officer

hoisted the black-white-

red flag

and decided on

Watter,

that meant, against

the proper government

After a short, but

violent fight,

the majority fled

towards Duisburg.

Heavy fights continued in

the mountains of Saarn.

After violent fights

with the Duisburg and

hamborn workers,

only a small part

reached

the protecting

walls of Wesel.

Already after the fights

near Sarn, I was

called back to Essen

and handed over

the Essen troops

to my friend Reinhold.

In Essen a

gang of mob and rabble

had spread

was generating

a panic mood.

with robberies

and thefts.

I was appointed

security officer

of the city of Essen.

Quickly, out of the

remaining

younger and older workers,

I raised

a security force

that took turns day

and night.

After the Bielefeld

Agreement

the front started

to crumble

that until then had

stuck together.

Fighting we retreated

over Buhr, Bottrop

and Essen.

In old Essen still,

heavy fights took place.

So one can in fact

say that

the resistance

of the workers

against Hitler

wasn't completely useless,

that it also brought

successes.

Looking back now,

one comes to the

conclusion

that already back then

it showed,

how necessary the

resistance was.

Today it is like this,

that

many still live off

what back then the

resistance groups

and among them one

can probably name

the communists as

the strongest group,

the socialists,

the trade unionist,

achieved.

For example, I remember

when we

were prosecuted by Hitler.

Hitler had risen to power.

A part of the middle class

celebrated because

they believed

their Messiah had come.

Even so, there were

groups of workers that

didn't want to

change these times

just with the fists

in their pockets.

And here

I recall amongst

other things

how even in the police

there were people

of the resistance.

In Cologne from example,

I had been transferred

from Thuringia to Cologne

because I belonged

to the central

resistance group,

after my arrest

a police man basically

released me

from the

Gestapo ill-treatments

by

breaking

his client's trust

opening the door

one morning

and I basically

escaped the beatings

of the gestapo

and the interrogations

because of this.

Then I was brought to

Bonner Wall,

that used to be

a military prison.

From there the stations

went over

Brauweiler, Börgermoor.

And

when I came back

from Börgermoor

already resistance groups

had formed

here in Mühlheim.

And Johann,

we were

probably the responsible

bodies or the first

organizers of the union

of the resistance groups

here in Mühlheim.

Maybe now you could

explain how things

were back then.

This is Johann Adelhütte,

craftsman.

Günther Daus, architect,

1945-1947 he was

communist mayor in

Mühlheim Ruhr.

Herrmann Rosendhal,

formerly miner.

And back then we

also received the

written documents.

We printed here ourselves,

we still had some

appliances

where you could

hectograph,

duplicate

and we distributed

or let these writings

be distributed

and...

then there were also

in the individual

suburbs

the individual groups or

the individual groups

were made one

and in doing so

I met Herrmann again

and

we asked him then

to now also help out and

he confirmed what we

had assumed. That in the

Ruhr area, already as well

people had come together

or had a connection

amongst themselves

and so the same thing

happened here

in the entire city area.

Until 1934 when

because of the

thoughtlessness

or today I would like

to say

well through the distri-

bution of the writings

it was easy for

the Gestapo

to then neutralize

this group

in the entire situation

and to then

put on trial.

That was a dark time,

that we then experienced,

but the resistance

continued and also

developed.

Because we know that

also in 1943

arrests were made

here in

Mühlheim

who then had to

pay dearly.

It was truly a bad time

back then

The..

antifascists back

then were

had to, they had to

retreat

the SA gained

the upper hand.

We were then, I was

lying in bed at night

all of a sudden the

house was encircled.

I was taken out,

I had no time

to dress, I was wearing

only pants.

And then it started.

Thrashings up to a pub

where there used to

be SA.

There again we had to

go through a lane,

I was among the first.

And.

And there then

it went on.

They had roof battens

in their hands,

you had to jump

over them

and when you didn't

get over...

you never got over

then they came for

the shins.

I had the misfortune

that someone kicked

me in the testicles.

I couldn't walk

at all anymore.

At about eight in

the morning

we were brought

to the Brown House

in the city centre.

It was around 20

minutes away.

But almost everyone

couldn't walk anymore

and

from there then

the Standard Leaders

gave our names to

the Brown House.

Then we were put

in a barracks,

in a gymnasium.

There we stayed

until

until the wounds had

somewhat subsided.

I was unlucky enough to

have to stay eight days.

And there already we

made the decision

in the gym

that we would have

to come closer together

so what happened there

could not happen again.

When we walked back

to town

the population took

no interest

as was later said

that they were

happy that Adolf Hitler

would come to power

instead they turned around,

they didn't want to see us

because we were

so battered.

Tears were running down

people's cheeks.

And so we came in the

evening and night.

At 12 when it was dark

I was released, then

I could go home.

I have been working

in a textile factory

for three years.

I am happy with my work.

At the same time, I

am supporting my parents.

The big problem is

the language.

For some time

I have been learning

to understand

German a little bit.

I have been in Germany

for about 3 years.

I am the father

of five children.

To live with

my sons,

that have been here

for about seven years.

We came to find work.

For a certain time

it went decently well

here in Germany.

But now it's beginning

to get worse.

For example, two of

my children

had to emigrate to

Australia.

We hope that

the situation will

improve, but so far

one sees no improvement

Unfortunately, we are

also treated a bit

poorly, especially

those who

haven't yet mastered

the language.

Like this, we are at a

disadvantage in everything.

For around ten years

we have had here

in our state

the mining crisis.

In our city

and on the mine

where I work.

Tomorrow is its

last shift.

This mine has existed

for almost over

hundred years.

These last ten years

of the crisis

have left their marks

on this city.

Almost 15.000 commuters.

Workers,

that only sleep within

the walls of this city,

have to look for work

outside these walls.

We were told here

about structural change,

about the introduction

of new industries.

There were 10

years of time

to introduce the

structural change here.

Only now

one is still talking

and it has been

like that for 10 years.

Just the replacement

industries

are simply not following.

On top of this,

it has to be clear that

if other industries are

to be settled

in this area,

you also have to know

which industries that

should be.

So that this industry's

production

are still saleable.

The help

and the expectations

that the people

in this state

put on the

government

- you know that we have

a social-democratic

state government,

and one could have

been of faith

that these people's

sufferings

should or would

have an end -

see themselves badly

deceived.

Just recently the

Bundesrat

I think it was the day

before yesterday

rejected the aid measures

and the bonus

that were pending

especially with

the plants Hansa

and Pluto

those things

again rejected

so that one can't

expect help

from this side either.

The importation

from the US

I think it's around

six million tons.

If those could be stopped

it would mean

the continuance

for a longer time

of many people's jobs.

Aid measures however

at the level

that one should

live off

mandate millions,

in the long term,

won't be an aid measure

for the Ruhr area

What's missing here

are places of employment

and a fast

structural change in

the Ruhr area.

But what hasn't been

managed in

10 years

and probably wasn't

willing to manage

we won't be able

to manage in

the next ten

months either.

So, it keeps going

downhill

here.

And where the workers

will march then

we will surely

live to see.

But this is not just

the case with mining

but

the people on the Ruhr

have to be

in the clear on the fact

that that which is

happening in Ruhr

what is happening

with mining

is going to spread over

on other industries

and will there too

find its expression.

Therefore it will be

a struggle with no end.

I think that

the workers in

this country

and not just here

but whether it be

whether it be in the US

whether it be in France

whether it be in Sweden

whether it be

anywhere else

have to join together

more closely

to defend their common

social

and economic

cause.

And to better face

the concentration

of power

in the economic power.