Twinning agreement with town of Biberach moves closer
THE first steps towards twinning Guernsey with the German town of Biberach were taken yesterday, as a letter of intent was signed.
While parishes have been twinned with different communities in the past, this will be the first time Guernsey as an island has been twinned with a town.
During the Second World War, the southern German town had two prisoner-of-war camps, including internment camp Ilag V-B for allied civilians, mainly from the Channel Islands.
In the past 30 years particularly, the two communities have sought to make links of friendship and culture.
Policy & Resources external relations lead Jonathan Le Tocq and Bailiff Richard McMahon were invited to the town by the mayor for a service this weekend, as both communities marked 78 years since German camp inmates were liberated.
Deputy Le Tocq said the idea of the two communities being twinned formally had been worked on behind the scenes for the last few months and P&R was supportive.
‘P&R felt it was appropriate, particularly to be able to say to the town of Biberach that we are grateful to them for their hand of friendship over the years,’ he said.
A commemorative service was held yesterday and the letter of intent was signed. As Guernsey has not been twinned with another community before, there is still some preparatory work needed to bring to agreement formally into place.
Deputy Le Tocq said he was pleased to sign the document.
‘It is quite an important thing for future generations,’ he said. ‘Survivors do pass away and we don’t want this to be forgotten.’
He expected it to take a few months to bring the agreement in, but he was hopeful it would be in place by the end of the year.
More than 800 Guernsey people were interned at the camp during the war.
One of the island’s links with Biberach for many years was the Guernsey Friends of Biberach friendship group, which closed in 2021.
Former deputy Gloria Dudley-Owen was a member and was born in the Biberach camp during the war.
‘I think it’s a good thing,’ she said about the twinning. ‘It will be interesting to see what it will mean for us.’
She said she was surprised by the news, as it had previously been said it would not be possible to the island to twin with Biberach. She added that it would be important to understand what responsibilities and costs would come from signing a formal twinning agreement.
Biberach and its historic links with Guernsey
Biberach an der Riss is a town in Baden-Wurttemberg in southern Germany. Today it is home to about 32,000 people, with a number of large, industrial businesses nearby.
It is already twinned with Asti in Italy, Swidnica in Poland, Telavi in Georgia and Valence in France. It is also twinned with Tendring district in Essex, England.
In the early 1940s, non island-born Channel Islanders were deported to an internment camp near the town, including about 800 from Guernsey.
The Biberach camp housed more than 1,300 Allied civilians during the war. Men were kept separate from their families and the camp was cramped.
In April 1945 there was some resistance from the Nazi forces before the camp was liberated.
The Channel Islanders were all repatriated back to the UK from the end of May.
The Guernsey Deportees’ Association was formed in the late 1990s, when a group travelled to southern Germany for a reconciliation week.
Since then there has been a strong link between the town and Guernsey, with music especially strong.
