What would the world be like if the First World War had not happened?
A project is exploring this question: young people are to write a book of plans, hopes and dreams.
By Martina Jurk.
Braunschweig. In 1914, millions of people had plans, aims and visions. These could never be
realised – they were extinguished with the deaths of men and women in the First World War. A
hundred years later a book of plans, hopes and dreams is to be written by young people today. How
many pictures could have been painted, how many pieces of music composed, how many buildings
erected and how many children born? Rebecca and Michael Bilkau pondered these questions while
going for a walk. Because they both admire the German painter August Macke, who was killed in
combat in 1914 right at the beginning of the First World War – aged only 27. The Bilkaus have been
living in Wolfenbüttel since 2011. Rebecca is English, and a writer, Michael had lived in England for
30 years. They know all about the images of the enemy which still persist in the minds of the English
and the Germans.
That’s why a bridge of time is to be built – from the past to the future. That’s why the project is to
be based in Great Britain and in Germany. “The project is about writing letters to real people, who
became victims of the war. Today’s young people should write letters to these victims telling them
about themselves, and in a second letter describe their own plans and dreams,” explained Michael
Bilkau in the presentation of the project. The victims of the war had taken their dreams and plans
with them to their graves; we would never know them. The young people who would participate in
this project would have the chance to record their emotions and aspirations for the future.
The best 52 contributions – which could be stories, essays, poems or multi-media clips – would be
published as “The Book of Plans, Hopes and Dreams”. These will be presented in the Braunschweig
and Blackburn cathedrals. The contributors of the best pieces will be invited to the appropriate twin
city. Contributions must be submitted by the 14th August – the month in which the First World War
began.
[The photo shows the initiators of the project, Rebecca and Michael Bilkau (standing) with the
cathedral preacher Joachim Hempel and Annette Boldt-Stülzebach from the Cultural Institute as cooperative partners.]
“We noticed how very important the First World War is in Blackburn while visiting there. In
considering how we could mark this event one hundred years later, the Bilkau’s idea played a part.
In both the Braunschweig and Blackburn cathedrals we shall together be commemorating the first
days of August of the war victims,” said cathedral preacher Joachim Hempel.
“People should not just think of the uniforms. Behind each one there is a human destiny, an
individual caught up in the machinery of war, an individual whose opportunities and potential were
cut short,” said Rebecca Bilkau. “That’s why a single person should be chosen to engage with (for
example a family member), to whom participants can write about what is important for them in the
present and the future.
“This project connects historical events and looks for traces of the past. It is also a search for the
future and an exchange between nations,” added Dr. Annette Boldt-Stülzebach from the town’s
Cultural Institute. Further information is available online at www.book-of-phd.com
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“Letters from the bridge of time” – A project in Germany and the UK from 2014. For all the
lost visions 1914 – 2014.
The competition is open to everyone living in Germany and the UK.
Entries are to consist of two letters: one addressed to a person living one hundred years ago
and another to a person in 2114.
Entries are only possible by e-mail.
Entries must be original work which has not been previously published.
The closing date for entries is 14th August 2014.
Prizes: 1st prize – a journey to the UK and publication in all editions of the book. 2nd prize for
52 runners-up – contributions will be published in a commemorative book and online. A
further 100 contributions will be published online.
The [Braunschweig] cathedral is the co-operative partner of the project, which is supported
by the foundation for Braunschweig’s cultural heritage, the town of Braunschweig and the
regional church.