- Association wants to march to Jerusalem with peace bells
No peace is too far: Over the next three weeks, a horse-drawn wagon convoy will travel from Dresden via Prague to Chemnitz to campaign against war-mongering and for a peaceful world. This journey also serves as a dress rehearsal for an action planned for next year, 80 years after the end of World War II. Then, the Friedensglocken association will travel from Berlin to Jerusalem with a bell cast from military scrap. "We want to set a powerful sign that peace will prevail," said association leader Helmut Kautz to the German Press Agency. "We don't give up believing that swords will be beaten into plowshares and that people will come to their senses, especially in times of uncertainty and bewilderment."
At the end of World War II, no one believed that the Germans would again find such harmony with the world as they have now. "That's why we believe that peace and reconciliation are possible. We want to bring the bell to a school in Jerusalem where Hebrew and Arabic are taught, to set a sign that reconciliation is possible. The Germans have experienced it."
Peace is a universal good
This time, the association is traveling with five wagons and twelve horses. Alongside a peace bell, they carry a directional sign reading "Berlin-Jerusalem 4,800 kilometers". Kautz hopes that Czech supporters will join the convoy. He plans to be in Prague on August 11 and in Chemnitz, the European Capital of Culture 2025, on August 22. There, a message from Tartu will be presented. Tartu, along with Bodø in Norway and Bad Ischl in Austria, is a European Capital of Culture this year. "With the 'Pilot Trek 24', we want to set a sign of hope and unity. Peace is a universal good that we must protect together," emphasized Kautz.
The Friedensglocken association sees itself as a non-partisan and religiously independent initiative that brings people of all backgrounds together to spread the message of peace in simple words. Since its founding in 2019, the association has organized horse-drawn treks and has already transported a peace bell from the Arnhem Bridge to Waterloo - two important sites in European military history. For the journey to Jerusalem, the association has won over the Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and the General Superintendent for the Sprengel Potsdam of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia, Kristóf Bálint, as patrons.
The Friedensglocken association, along with its patrons, seeks the support of Czech supporters during their convoy from Prague to Chemnitz. The Commission, being a non-partisan and religiously independent initiative, aims to present a message of hope and unity, underscoring that peace is a universal good that requires collective protection.
