On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the emigration of Germans to the Caucasus, the AGDM delegation visited Georgia

The organisation "Einung" is preserving the German culture and tradition in Georgia

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the emigration of Germans to the Caucasus, the Speaker of the Working Group of German Minorities under the umbrella of FUEN (AGDM) Mr Bernard Gaida and the AGDM Coordinator Mrs Renata Trischler visited Tbilisi, the Capital of Georgia. Also the former German settlements Bolnisi (Katharinenfeld) and Asureti (former Elisabethtal) were visited from 6 to 9 October 2017. Together with the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers Mr Hartmut Koschyk (Member of the Bundestag), the former Internal Affairs Spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag Mr Stephan Mayer (Member of the Bundestag) and the Head of the Unit of the Unit AM3 of the Federal Ministry of Interior (BMI) Dr Alexander Schumacher, the AGDM Delegation was informed about the situation of the German minority in Georgia.

At the meeting centre of the FUEN member organisation Association of the Germans in Georgia "Einung" in Tbilisi, a ceremony was organised on the occasion of the renovated centre. Prior to the ceremony, discussions were held with the chairman of the association, Dr Harry Augst and Vice President Mr Alexander Feldmayer on the situation of the Germans in Georgia, as well as their plans and wishes for the future. The discussions were very informative, interesting and gave a deep insight into the current situation of the members of the German minority in Georgia. New projects were presented, old projects were discussed and analysed, and new impulses for future works were given.

The ceremony at the meeting centre was accompanied by a concert of young musicians, as well as an exhibition of visual artists  - all of them members of the German minority and the "Einung" association. For this occasion, on behalf of AGDM Mr Bernard Gaida presented the chairman Dr Harry Augst with a gift for the meeting centre.

On the following day, a three-lingual Protestant service was held at a former Protestant church in Bolnisi, which had been converted into a sports hall after the Second World War. The service was headed by the Lutheran Bishop of Georgia, Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, while other Pastors of the Protestant Church accompanied the service in Russian and Georgian. Finally, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the sports hall reminding that the building originally served as a church.

Afterwards the participants of the service, especially Germans and ethnic Germans, attended a commemoration in order to honour the murdered German prisoners of war. The Federal Commissioner Koschyk together with his colleague Mr Mayer laid a wreath at the memorial on behalf of the Federal Government. On behalf of AGDM under the FUEN, Speaker Bernard Gaida together with the Vice-Chairman of the Association "Einung" Alexander Feldmayer laid a wreath at the memorial.

After lunch in a Swabian wine cellar, owned by Mr Rainer Kaufmann, the editor of the German-language monthly newspaper "Kaukasische Post", a discussion forum with descendants of German settlers took place at the library in Bolnisi. The event was organised by the Association for the Preservation of German Cultural Heritage. The conversation was followed by an excursion to Asureti.

Bolnisi and Asureti are two important cities in the history of German settlement of Georgia. Bolnisi was founded in 1818 by German settlers, under the name Katharinenfeld. The city of Asureti was founded in 1816 as Elisabeththal. Today there are hardly any traces of the German settlers in these cities, since a large part was deported from Georgia by the Stalinist regime after the Second World War. At the German cemetery in Asureti, the attendants lit candles, and the Lord’s Prayer was spoken in German.

After short refreshments in the wine cellar of the German M. Tichonof, the delegation returned to Tbilisi.

The programme was rounded off by a reception hosted by the German Ambassador in Georgia, Dr Peitsch. It marked the occasion of the 200th anniversary of German settlement in Georgia and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Georgia.

These kind of visits are of utmost importance to the AGDM. It gives an opportunity to examine the situation of the German minority on the spot. The synergy effects generated by the AGDM become all the more visible and also more useful for the associations of the German minority in Europe. The AGDM will continue its efforts to deliver good examples and project ideas from all corners of Europe to the member organisations.

Photos of the visit can be found here