Jutta worked in civil service in Stuttgart, specifically in Esslingen, from 1989 to 2018. After taking a break for three years due to the birth of her second son, Jutta was asked by the mayor to create programs for the visit of Jewish people who had previously lived in Esslingen. This experience marked her first involvement with hosting foreign individuals in Esslingen and caring for them. Following that exprience, her role involved leading the office of International relationships, focusing on town twinning and European programs. Working directly for the mayor, she coordinated various exchanges such as school, club, and youth exchanges, as well as collaborative European projects.
Concerning the origins of town twinning, young people from different countries, despite being burdened by war-related differences, focused on building peace and unity. War was not a central theme in their discussions; instead, they emphasized the importance of living together harmoniously and the freedom to study and travel across Europe. They aspired to create a free world where people could live in peace and prosperity.
There was a lack of education about the Holocaust and the experiences of Jewish people in schools. Many students reported not learning about it in their lessons, mirroring the experiences of Jutta's generation, where teachers avoided discussing it altogether. Even the Jutta's parents, who were teenagers during the war, were aware of the events but chose not to acknowledge them fully. Jutta draws a parallel to contemporary attitudes towards events such as the conflict in Ukraine.
Jutta had discussions with town-twinning friends during the reunification of Germany. While she felt positive about the idea of a united Germany, their friends expressed anxiety about it. She struggled to understand their friends' concerns, but one friend mentioned historical apprehensions related to Germany's size and its past actions, particularly during the Second World War. The complexities and differing perspectives about the reunification of Germany were hard to understand for Jutta. She couldn’t understand why they were so anxious.
Friends in a Cold Climate: After the Second World War a number of friendship ties were established between towns in Europe. Citizens, council-officials and church representatives were looking for peace and prosperity in a still fragmented Europe. After a visit of the Royal Mens Choir Schiedam to Esslingen in 1963, representatives of Esslingen asked Schiedam to take part in friendly exchanges involving citizens and officials. The connections expanded and in 1970, in Esslingen, a circle of friends was established tying the towns Esslingen, Schiedam, Udine (IT) Velenje (SL) Vienne (F) and Neath together. Each town of this so called “Verbund der Ringpartnerstädte” had to keep in touch with at least 2 towns within the wider network. Friends in a Cold Climate looks primarily through the eyes the citizen-participant. Their motivation for taking part may vary. For example, is there a certain engagement with the European project? Did parents instil in their children a a message of fraternisation stemming from their experiences in WWII? Or did the participants only see youth exchange only as an opportunity for a trip to a foreign country? This latter motivation of taking part for other than Euro-idealistic reasons should however not be regarded as tourist or consumer-led behaviour. Following Michel de Certeau, Friends in a Cold Climate regards citizen-participants as a producers rather than as a consumers. A participant may "put to use" the Town Twinning facilities of travel and activities in his or her own way, regardless of the activities programme.
INTEGRATION OF WESTERN EUROPE AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR was driven by a broad movement aimed at peace, security and prosperity. Organised youth exchange between European cities formed an important part of that movement. This research focuses on young people who, from the 1960s onwards, participated in international exchanges organised by twinned towns, also called jumelage. Friends in a Cold Climate asks about the interactions between young people while taking into account the organisational structures on a municipal level, The project investigates the role of the ideology of a united West-Europe, individual desires for travel and freedom, the upcoming discourse about the Second World War and the influence of the prevalent “counterculture” of that period, thus shedding a light on the formative years of European integration.
