The nine-kilometre hike starts at St. Sebastian's Church in Würselen. There, an audio spot tells the story of US Sergeant William Aubut, who wrote letters to his family in the autumn of 1944 and was killed in action. His grandson later composed a moving song called ‘Somewhere in Germany’ based on these letters. A total of 398 dead from both world wars are buried in the cemetery of St. Sebastian.The district of Scherberg was one of the scenes of fierce fighting during the Battle of Aachen, in which the 30th US Infantry Division, known as ‘Old Hickory’, was particularly involved. Before reaching the Wurm Valley, a wayside cross commemorates two soldiers, one American and one German, who were both killed in action on German soil in the autumn of 1944.The route takes hikers through a scenic part of the Wurm Valley to the Wolfsfurth, the location of a bunker from the former Siegfried Line. A narrow path then leads up to the Kahlenberg, which offers a wonderful view of Aachen.The route continues first towards Kaisersruh and then uphill to Würselen. The climb is rewarded with a wide view of the Aachen basin. Würselen was liberated only four weeks after the surrender of Aachen during the battle for the city (2 to 21 October 1944). Brutal and bitter fighting took place here in a very confined space, costing many lives.

Germany

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The liberation of Würselen during the Battle of Aachen

The first Jewish residents in Würselen were documented from around 1837. Several attempts to establish an independent community initially failed – for decades, Würselen remained part of a larger branch community in the Aachen synagogue district. In 1855, a separate branch community was formed with its seat in Würselen; it included surrounding towns such as Bardenberg, Eilendorf, Haaren, Kohlscheid, Richterich and Weiden.Before building their own synagogue, the Jews of Würselen temporarily used houses of prayer rented in other locations. In 1875, the synagogue in Würselen was ceremoniously inaugurated on what is now Lindenplatz (Linden square). With the inauguration, Jewish citizens now had a permanent place of worship and a location for communal religious practice. Behind the synagogue there was also a Jewish elementary school.However, the community remained small. By 1905, only about 31 people of the Jewish faith were still living in Würselen. In the 1920s, use of the synagogue declined. The last major service took place in 1925, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. On 5 April 1938, shortly before the November pogroms, the synagogue building was sold.After the sale, the former place of worship was repurposed and served various commercial purposes over the decades, including housing the Gloria Theatre. There was local resistance to the planned demolition of the building in 2012. The remains of the eastern gable wall were saved and integrated into the new construction of a retirement home. A large picture of the old synagogue can be seen in the entrance area of the residential complex.Previously, on the initiative of the Würselen working group ‘Kein Vergessen’ (Never Forget), a memorial plaque was laid on the pavement in front of the former synagogue in 2008. In addition, stumbling stones, framed by a ‘wounded’ Star of David, commemorate nine people who were murdered after 1942. A beautiful gesture can be seen on the old remains of the synagogue wall. Visitors repeatedly place small stones on the narrow wall ledge. In the Jewish faith, these symbolise permanence and immortality.

The old Synagogue in Würselen

The Voss family was part of the small Jewish community in the town of Würselen and ran a butcher's shop. Father Jakob served as a soldier in the First World War for four years. In 1938, the family was forced to close the business due to political pressure from the National Socialists. The Fabry family acquired the house and shop, and the new owner recalled: ‘I was an employee at the Voss butcher's shop. When the house and shop were to be Aryanised, I bought both at the low official price. I secretly paid the family the real value.’ This story was confirmed by contacting the Voss sons in the United States.At first, the Voss couple believed that, as good Germans, nothing would happen to them under the new regime. However, in 1941 they were deported to the Haarener Hergelsmühle camp, then to Theresienstadt via the forced accommodation in Eschweiler, and finally to Auschwitz, where they were murdered. Their deaths are dated to after 15 October 1944. During an official visit to Auschwitz in 2013, Martin Schulz, then President of the European Parliament, dedicated his entry in the guest book to the murdered people of his hometown, and in particular to the Voss couple.The youngest son, Ernst Voss, was a talented footballer and played for Rhenania Würselen until 1933, when Jewish athletes were forced to leave German sports clubs. He fled on a ship from Hamburg to Colombia in 1937 and from there made his way to the United States in 1940. As a German speaker, he was of great use to the US Army and was employed in the intelligence service. After the liberation of the city, he returned to his hometown of Würselen. A contemporary witness describes the first encounter: ‘Tanks drove into the market square in front of St. Sebastian's. Among the first Americans on the market square was a young captain. He said he knew us, that he was from Würselen, the youngest son of the butcher Voss from Wilhelmstraße around the corner. He recognised us all.’All three sons of the family, Rudolf, Friedrich and Ernst, survived the Shoah and later reunited in the USA. The tragic story of the Voss family is documented in detail in the book ‘Far Away from Würselen’ (2013) by Iris Gedig and Stefan Kahlen.

The Jewish Voss family from Würselen

Würselen was heavily bombed by the American Air Force during the advance of the U.S. Army across the German-Dutch border, destroying almost all of the houses. During the Battle of Aachen, the front line was located directly in Würselen for six weeks until the U.S. forces captured the rest of the city on 18 October 1944. This closed the pincer around Aachen, and the city fell into Allied hands three days later.The photo, taken on 24 October 1944, shows Private Herman Bulau from Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, USA, cautiously peeking out of the door of a house. This is a scene from the house-to-house fighting in Würselen. Herman Bulau was a private in the 30th U.S. Infantry Division (nicknamed ‘Old Hickory’).At this point, German defenders were positioned in bunkers and fortifications around Scherberg and Ravelsberg. The Old Hickory Division's attacks focused on capturing these strategic heights and transport routes, which brought the district of Scherberg directly into the combat zone. By 17 November 1944, the town of Würselen had been captured to such an extent that American tanks were able to advance in a controlled manner – Scherberg thus became part of the liberated zone.The members of ‘Old Hickory’ had landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on 11 June 1944, five days after the first Allied landing on D-Day (6 June 1944). After the liberation of Paris, the division advanced eastward through Belgium and crossed the Meuse River at Visé and Liège on 10 September 1944. Parts of the division reached the Netherlands on 12 September, and Maastricht fell the following day. The 30th U.S. Infantry Division advanced into Germany, took up positions along the Wurm River, and attacked the heavily fortified city of Aachen on 2 October 1944. On 16 October, it succeeded in making contact with the 1st U.S. Infantry Division, which led to the encirclement and capture of Aachen and the liberation of Würselen.

House-to-house fight in Würselen

On the night of 9 October 1944, U.S. American tanks entered the districts of Scherberg and Schweilbach in the town of Würselen. Both are located on the edge of the valley through which the River Wurm flows, about eight kilometres north-east of Aachen.The German defenders were positioned in bunkers and emplacements around Scherberg and Ravelsberg. The U.S. attacks focused on capturing these strategic heights and transport routes, which brought Scherberg directly into the combat zone. By 17 November 1944, the town of Würselen had been captured to such an extent that American tanks were able to enter in a controlled manner – thus, the district of Scherberg also became part of the liberated zone.In memory of U.S. Private First Class Allison Ray Jackson, who died at the age of 23 as a member of the 30th U.S. Infantry Division (known as ‘Old Hickory’) during the liberation of Würselen. The 30th U.S. Infantry Division landed in Normandy and was subsequently involved in the liberation of Paris (France), Liège (Belgium) and Maastricht (Netherlands). Following the battle for Aachen, Jackson's unit became involved in the German Ardennes offensive (16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945), known in English as the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. After crossing the Rhine and heading towards the Elbe, the members of ‘Old Hickory’ also liberated the Weferlingen satellite camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. This saved 2,500 lives in April 1945.Johann Vorbuchner, a private in the artillery regiment of the 116th German Panzer Division (known as the Greyhound Division), who died in Würselen at the age of 22, is also commemorated. The Greyhound Division was involved in the defence of Aachen, the battles around Arnhem, in the Hürtgen Forest, in the Battle of the Bulge, in the Reichswald forest in the Lower Rhine region and in the so-called Ruhr Pocket. It was here that a large part of the unit surrendered on 16 April 1945.The inscription on the wayside cross reads:"It is the living who close the eyes of the dead.It is the dead who open the eyes of the living."

Wayside cross in Wurm Valley

Under the influence of his father, he founded a communist youth group at the age of 16. This led to an arrest and a stay in prison. After his release, Mohren joined the Aachen Combat League against Fascism. Since the beginning of the war, he and like-minded friends had followed events via BBC Radio. He was fascinated by the direct reporting, which also called for withholding any support for Hitler's war machine. As a result, Josef decided to work only in the materials distribution section at the Gouley mine, in order to avoid coal production and his conscription into the army.&nbsp;&nbsp;On November 17, 1944, the Ravelsberg is littered with mines. It is here that Josef Mohren starts recovering the bodies of dead American soldiers. He ensures they received an honorable burial. For him, they represented idealism and a steadfast commitment to freedom. In the first three weeks, he initially recoveres 32 American soldiers, but eventually also 132 fallen German soldiers. Josef Mohren survived and became a special constable, with the aim of helping prevent any resurgence of fascism.

Gravedigger out of gratitude

La Linea Sigfrido era una struttura fortificata ma aveva anche un ruolo essenziale per la propaganda tedesca, con un programma iniziato nel 1936. Nell'ottobre del 1938, senza che la costruzione dei bunker fosse stata completata, Adolf Hitler annunciò una maggiore difesa per le città di Aquisgrana e Saarbrücken, che si trovavano a ovest delle fortificazioni precedentemente previste. Durante il "Programma Aquisgrana-Saar", Aquisgrana fu circondata da linee di bunker a est e a ovest.Le numerose difficoltà con le linee di rifornimento, ma anche la propaganda nazista sulla (presunta) insormontabilità della Linea Sigfrido, fecero sì che le truppe americane si fermassero alla periferia di Aquisgrana all'inizio di settembre 1944. Su ordine del generale Courtney H. Hodges, comandante in capo della 1a Armata degli Stati Uniti, la città doveva essere accerchiata. A tal fine, la 1ª Divisione di fanteria statunitense, al comando del maggior generale Clarence R. Huebner, avanzò verso est passando per Verlautenheide e Ravensberg, mentre la 30ª Divisione di fanteria, al comando del maggior generale Leland S. Hobbs, avanzò verso ovest per attraversare il Wurm a Rimburg e avanzare attraverso Herzogenrath fino ad Aquisgrana. Anche se i bunker lungo la Linea Sigfrido erano scarsamente presidiati ed equipaggiati, l'avanzata delle truppe americane si rivelò difficile e sanguinosa per entrambe le parti. Così, i bunker lungo le vie di avanzamento alleato finirono talvolta sotto il controllo degli Stati Uniti e dei tedeschi , a seguito di continui cambi repentini. Solo il 17 ottobre 1945 l'accerchiamento intorno ad Aquisgrana fu chiuso e la battaglia per la città finì il 21 ottobre con la resa di Aquisgrana.La maggior parte dei bunker del Westwall fu distrutta e demolita durante i combattimenti o nell'immediato dopoguerra. Nei pressi della città di Aquisgrana, tuttavia, alcune rovine sono ancora oggi visibili in zone boschive e in campagna, come il Bunker 84, che faceva parte della prima linea del "Westwall". Costruito secondo lo schema del Regelbau 10, che prevedeva 3.471 installazioni lungo l'interam Linea Sigfrido, consisteva in una sala di pronto intervento con serrature a gas e una sala di combattimento annessa. L'equipaggio regolare di 15 uomini era protetto da pareti di cemento spesse 1,5 metri.

Bunker 84 del "Westwall" (Linea Sigfrido)

The American 30th Infantry Division, better known as The Old Hickory, reaches the Netherlands on September 12 1944, and Maastricht is liberated two days later. In the days and weeks that follow, village after village is conquered. The 30th Division then sets its sights on the city of Aachen to the east. German troops are well-entrenched in and around Aachen, but are increasingly surrounded by the Allies. After days of siege, Aachen is almost entirely surrounded. Only a small corridor on the north side, near the village of Würselen, remains open for the German soldiers. On Monday, October 16 1944, the 119th Regiment slowly fights its way to Kahlensberg and takes Würselen-Scherberg one metre at a time. There are heavy casualties on and around Ravelsberg. At around 18:15, the company from the 119th Infantry Regiment and units from the 1st Infantry Division meet at Ravelsberg, and the corridor is closed.In his nine months of service, Sergeant William Aubut wrote 225 letters to home. Grandson Mark LaPointe received his grandfather's letters from his mother Donna, and wrote a touching song about them that is both thought-provoking and moving. The song is called Somewhere in Germany and can be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpQeIg8fYJw&amp;ab_channel=MarcLapointe-Topic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">listened on YouTube</a>.The battle for the so-called "Bloody Ravelsberg" continued. The German Wehrmacht tried to retake Ravelsberg to reopen the corridor to Aachen. During these battles, bunker groups regularly changed hands. The two deployed German battalions of the 3rd Armoured Frontier Division were bled dry. The Americans took Würselen on 17 November 1944. One of the first Americans was Ernst Voß, a young captain from Würselen. In 1938, he fled on a ship from Hamburg to Colombia, from where he travelled to the United States in 1940. His parents wanted to stay in Würselen. They died because they were Jewish.