The District Community of Ortelsburg  

Ortelsburger District Community Council starts a new legislative term   Commitment to the furtherance of German-Polish international Understanding to be included within the Society's principles.

A packed meeting hall in the Cultural Center of the city of Herne (partner city) greeted the inaugural meeting of the newly elected council. Dieter Chilla, former and current chairman, welcomed representatives from all constituencies. Special welcomes were extended to Arkadiusz Lesko, chairman of the German cultural society "Heimat" (Home) in Ortelsburg / Szczytno, and Dariusz Malinowski (also from "Heimat").

Dieter Chilla was pleased that the posts in all 16 rural communities and three towns, had been taken up. He felt that that was a sign of the vitality of the Society.

Arkadiusz Lesko thanked the council for their material suport, and stressed the importance of working on common projects. In particular, he pointed out the importance of the German-Polish illustrated book about historic Ortelsburg, currently in preparation.

In his review Dieter Chilla explained how the Ortelsburg District Community has become dynamic, proactive and future-oriented. Looking back at 2012, he referred to such projects (amongst others) as:

• Enlistment of qualified younger members to work in the District Community
• Publication of photo books for almost all localities
• Support of the German cultural society "Heimat" in Szczytno at their 20th anniversary, active participation in the celebrations which found great public response
• Financial contribution to the renovation of the Protestant churches in Passenheim and Mensguth with particular involvement on the German side of Ilse Masuch and Alfred Denda and the priest Witold Twardzik on the Polish side
• Under the leadership of Caroline Kalinski, a painting from the estate of the Ruhnau family was returned to the Catholic Church in Mensguth
• 5th Ortelsburger home seminar held in October in Bad Pyrmont (speakers included: Canon Andre Schmeier / Olsztyn, Dr. Peter Chmiel / Wroclaw, Günter Donder / Cologne)
• 5. Ortelsburger Heimatseminar im Oktober in Bad Pyrmont ( Referenten u. a.: Domherr Andre Schmeier/Allenstein, Dr. Peter Chmiel/Breslau, Günter Donder/Köln)
• 50th anniversary of the sponsorship of the District community Ortelsburg by the city of Herne was held in the auditorium of the School of Music in Herne (included the participation of OB Horst Schiereck)
• Extension of Ortelsburger inventory in the image archive of East Prussia

Treasurer Helga Frankiewicz presented an accurate and well managed financial statement and was unanimously approved by the entire board.

The following members have resigned from the previous council and were - if present - awarded an honorary membership and the silver badge of honor of the District Community: Willi Berwein, Helena Hartinger, Anna Kilimann, Margret Stobinski and Kurt Spriewald.

Under sponsorship of the honorary chairman Edelfried Baginski, Dieter Chilla was, by secret ballot, unanimously elected chairman. Herbert John was elected vice chairman of the District Community.

The following officers were also unanimously elected:

• Hans Napierski as CEO
• Helga Frankiewicz as treasurer
• Marc Plessa as secretary
• Alfred Olbrisch as editor of the 'Heimatbote' (Home Messenger)
• Jürgen Mosdziel as administrator of the 'Heimatstube' (meeting point)and archive manager
• Irmgard Denda as file manager
• As assessors for the District Committee: Alfred Denda, Christel Sender, Karola Kalinski and Gregory Gonsowski
• Auditors: Ingo Gosdek, Dieter Packheiser, Ursula Greschkowitz

With regard to the articles of the society, changes were made in order to execute some courses of action more speedily.

A key amendment was greeted with considerable applause: "Völkerverständigung" (Understanding between Peoples), particularly between the Germans and the Poles, was added to the list of objectives of the District Community.

In detail, the chairman spoke of the changes associated with the Ortelsburger Heimatbote (Home Messenger): Starting in the nineties, Alfred Denda has given this "flagship of the Ortelsburger District Community" a profile and has earned a lot of recognition for it. For private reasons he is now forced to give up this work. The chairman expressed in front of the assembly the deep gratitude and great respect for Alfred Denda; this was impressively underlined by continuous applause from the assembly.

In a first phase Detlef Ollesch has taken over this work for the 2013 "Heimatbote" (Home Messenger) and we thank him for his involvement. After the election by the council, the leadership is now with Alfred Olbrisch.

The chairman closed with the words "Ortelsburg lives, East Prussia lives!"

The meeting ended with the traditional singing of the "Ostpreussenlied" (East Prussia song).

March 2013, Dieter Chilla