Since October 2022, the "Round Table", consisting of the religious communities, the hospice initiative and other actors, has been working to give space to the memory of the people who fell ill with corona during the pandemic or died during this time. In addition to the photo exhibition "Landkreis im Lockdown" with photographs by Yakup Zeyrek in Kornwestheim, the Round Table also organized the interfaith memorial event in the Ludwigsburg City Church in November 2023. The last action was the planting of a tree of remembrance in the New Ludwigsburg Cemetery.
"A tree is more than just a piece of nature. It is a symbol of life itself," said District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier, opening the planting campaign. A tree as a place of remembrance - nothing could be more fitting, he continued. The choice of tree species also shows this. The Persian silk tree is native to southern Asia and has a very special characteristic: it closes its leaves at night and unfurls them again in the morning light. "What better way to remind us that dark hours are always followed by light?" Allgaier asked those present.
Ludwigsburg's mayor Sebastian Mannl also addressed a few words to those gathered. "The pandemic has dominated people's lives for two years. Now is the time to remember those who lost their lives during this time," said Mannl. "The tree should become a central memorial in Ludwigsburg for the victims. It offers relatives a space to come to terms with what happened and to remember."
Tree as a symbol of life: "valuable and worth protecting at the same time"
The tree is also intended to commemorate all the children and young people who were not able to have important experiences during important years of their development, added Anne Braun, a representative of the Catholic Deanery in Ludwigsburg. "They should now be given the chance to develop and mature like the Persian silk tree." The tree is also a reminder of how endangered and fragile life is. "We are sending a signal: Life is valuable and worth protecting at the same time!"
"Dying and saying goodbye were not easy"
In his speech, Dean Michael Werner recalled the interfaith memorial service, which was held last year under the heading "You are not forgotten". The reports on the pandemic and its consequences in hospitals and care facilities were "impressive", he said. "Dying and saying goodbye were not easy during this time," recalls the dean. Grief, including public grief, needs a place. This tree will be such a public place of mourning and remembrance. A living place that will hopefully soon grow firmly rooted with us and remind us how valuable and at the same time vulnerable our lives are," agrees Werner Braun.
In addition to Dean Braun and Dean Werner, representatives of various religious communities as well as the hospital chaplaincy, the RKH clinic and the Ecumenical Hospice Initiative were also present at the planting.
