Alexandra Scherer has expressed her regret and disappointment that the delegation of former internees has been prevented from marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the wartime internment camp tomorrow.
‘It would have strengthened our strong twinning bonds, but instead of reaching out to one another we have to keep our distance,’ she said, adding that she had been looking forward to welcoming friends from Jersey for the special occasion.
Mrs Scherer, the first woman to be elected mayor of the town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, has had to deal with similar challenges to those facing Jersey, promoting a ‘stay at home’ campaign as 500 cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the surrounding district of Ravensburg which has about 280,000 inhabitants.
Constable of St Helier Simon Crowcroft has sent his own message of regret to Mrs Scherer who had been due to attend the Liberation 75 ceremony on 9 May, consolidating the twinning agreement signed between the two towns in 2002.
‘I would like to send my best wishes to you and your team, as you tackle the pandemic and deal with the challenges you’re facing as a community. I look forward to developing the cultural, sporting and economic links between Bad Wurzach and St Helier when this is behind us,’ the Constable wrote.
His sentiments were echoed by Gisela Rothenhäusler, chairman of the Bad Wurzach twinning committee: ‘Here in Bad Wurzach, we are thinking of the people in Jersey who now, 75 years after the end of the terrible war, have become friends. We are not enemies anymore but now we fight a common enemy and share the same experiences,’ she said.
