Bitburg
Bitburg is a city in
Germany, capital of the district
Bitburg-Prüm, in the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated approx. 25 km (16 mi.) north-west of
Trier, and 50 km (31 mi.) north-east of
Luxembourg (city). Two
American airbases,
Bitburg Air Base and
Spangdahlem Air Base, are located nearby.
The city's name derives from its
Celtic toponym,
Beda. A
Roman outpost until around 400 AD, Bitburg subsequently became part of
Franconia. It is mentioned in a historical document in 715 named 'castrum bedense'. Bitburg then passed to
Luxembourg in the middle of the tenth century and in the mid-fifteenth century, to
Burgundy. After
1506 it belonged to the Spanish Netherlands and after 1714 to the Austrian Netherlands. In
1792, Bitburg fell under
French control before passing to the
Prussians after the
Congress of Vienna.
In
World War II, it was 85% destroyed and at the time many considered it a "dead city".
On
April 11,
1985, it was announced that then-
U.S. President Ronald Reagan would visit the
Kolmeshöhe Cemetery near Bitburg, at the suggestion of
Chancellor Helmut Kohl of
West Germany, to pay respects to the soldiers interred there. The
White House staff was under the impression that those interred included both American and German soldiers. The visit was intended to be symbolic of the goodwill between the two countries, but unbeknownst to Reagan and deputy chief of staff
Michael Deaver, 49 of the graves contained the remains of men who had served in the
Waffen-SS. The cemetery also contained remains of about 2000 other German soldiers who had died in both World Wars, but no Americans. On top of this, Reagan had no plans to visit a
concentration camp during his tour of Western Europe in connection with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the end of war.
This planned visit caused a great deal of anger, mainly on the part of
Jews and former
World War II soldiers. Many prominent government officials,
U.S. Army officers, and celebrities, protested the planned visit. Concentration camp survivor and author
Elie Wiesel spoke out on the topic at an unrelated
White House ceremony, saying, "I ... implore you to do something else, to find another way, another site. That place, Mr. President, is not your place." 53 senators (including 11 Republicans), signed a letter asking the president to cancel, and 257 representatives (including 84 Republicans) signed a letter urging Chancellor Kohl to withdraw the invitation.
The Ramones recorded the song "
My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)," which alludes to
Bedtime for Bonzo and
Bonzo Goes to College, two movies from Reagan's film career that co-starred a chimpanzee, and
Frank Zappa recorded "
Reagan At Bitburg".
Chancellor Kohl responded that he and the West Germans would be insulted if Reagan didn't go ahead with the visit, and it was shown in a poll that more than half of West Germans were in favor of the visit. Reagan defended himself by saying that "I think that there's nothing wrong with visiting that cemetery where those young men are victims of Nazism also, even though they were fighting in the German uniform, drafted into service to carry out the hateful wishes of the Nazis. They were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps." Reagan was criticized for this statement by opponents of the visit.
Despite urgings from his wife
Nancy and many prominent figures in government and entertainment, Reagan went ahead with the visit on May 5, saying that, "This visit has stirred many emotions in the American and German people too. Some old wounds have been reopened, and this I regret very much, because this should be a time of healing." In an effort to placate the protesters, he added a visit to the
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to his itinerary, giving a speech there that was regarded as "skillful exercise in both the art of eulogy and political damage control" by
TIME magazine, in which Reagan famously said, "...we can and must pledge: Never again."
Today Bitburg is a city in the
Eifel, near
Trier. Bitburg's Mayor, Dr. Joachim Streit, while not a
party member, is ideologically aligned with the
Social Democratic Party. Bitburg has circa 14,112 citizens. The biggest company is the
Bitburger Brauerei, one of the largest
beer manufacturers in the world.
Bitburger Bier is a major sponsor of the
German soccer team. Bitburg hosts the annual
European Festival of Folklore.
Bitburg had an
air base which is not active but still houses American troops and civilians. It is sometimes considered part of Spangdahlem Airbase. The housing is to close by
2008.
Bitburg-Erdorf (Train-Station);Bitburg-Irsch;Bitburg-Masholder;Bitburg-Matzen;Bitburg-Mötsch;Bitburg-Stahl;
Arlon (
Belgium, since 1965); Bad Köstritz (
Thuringia, since 1992);
Diekirch (Luxembourg since 1962);
Rethel (
France, since 1965);
Shelbyville,
Kentucky (
USA, since 1962)
*
Official City Website*
The Eighties Club: Bitburg
