In 1983 my mother, a widow, met Otto Preuss. After a short while they moved in together. We got to know Otto as a sweet man and a nice grandfather to our children. He was there for everyone to help where he could.
Yet, Otto was marked by life: his harsh childhood, the stay in various concentration camps and the death march from which he managed to escape with a few others.
It left its mark. After a number of years in various sanatoriums, he picks up the thread of life again, and starts his own business as an independent in Antwerp.
The past, however, did not let go. He wanted to talk about it, especially with the youth, so that no one would forget the past. He also took our children to the camps where he stayed during the war. Otto also contributed to the annual commemorations and, together with Sonja Büttner, among others, arranged a monument and an annual commemoration ceremony in Wewelsburg.
He was a brave man, fortified by his conviction. Marked by life, but not bitter.
He described it himself as: “Hate, I don’t feel that. Only pain, a lot of pain.”
To us and our children he often said: “You can be deprived of your freedom, even your dignity, but the freedom of your mind nobody can take away.”
It was a privilege for us to have known Otto.
He was a beautiful person, warm and strong. Righteous, true to his ideals and he has been willing to fight for it.
For us the commemorations are therefore very important as a tribute to all who had to endure the Nazi terror and for the many who perished, so that this terror would never repeat itself and that lessons could be learned from this black past.
That was Otto’s greatest hope; with him, the hope of many others.
Otto died in family circle in 2003 on February 19th.He was almost 89 years old.
We will always remember him!
Paul & Sonia Dierckx-Didden, children and grandchildren, Antwerp, Belgium
Kreismuseum Wewelsburg
Burgwall 19
33142 Büren-Wewelsburg
Deutschland
Tel. 02955 7622-0
Fax 02955 7622-22
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