“Modern culture of remembrance” in the District of Düren: (Former) District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn and the (former) “remembrance culture representative” Frank Möller – On Pride and Fall (Published on 14/04/2026)
Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the many oddities that have unfolded in recent years surrounding the German military cemeteries in Hürtgen Forest, namely in Hürtgen and Vossenack. The Düren district administration, under the now-former district administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn (CDU), is responsible for this; since June 2020, it has been actively encouraged and supported by the so-called – and likewise former – “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” (“Beauftragter für die Betreuung der Kriegsgräberstätten Vossenack und Hürtgen als Orte einer demokratischen Erinnerungs- und Gedenkkultur”) Frank Möller.
While Mr Spelthahn was suspended in November 2024 on suspicion of corruption and left office at the end of his term on 31/10/2025, Mr Möller passed away in March 2025.
I. As a reminder: Manifestations of a “modern culture of remembrance” in the District of Düren
With the appointment of Mr Möller as “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” (afterwards “remembrance culture representative”) in June 2020, the protagonists accelerated their push for a so-called “modern culture of remembrance.”
In June 2021, the memorial board for Julius Erasmus was removed from the military cemetery in Vossenack after the Dürener Zeitung had previously published Mr Möller’s questionable theories about Julius Erasmus in a full-page article, which was presumably intended to lay the pseudo-scientific groundwork for the subsequent removal. The District of Düren provided further details regarding the removal in August 2021.
In the fall of 2022, the new cemetery rules – and the contained ban on placing “symbols of mourning“, such as candles or flowers, at the two military cemeteries – drew nationwide attention; the District of Düren denied this ban when asked by the press. Subsequently, the District of Düren also prohibited the display of photos of the fallen in uniform at both cemeteries and had such photos destroyed.
Also in the fall of 2022, the memorial stone for Julius Erasmus was removed from the military cemetery in Vossenack on flimsy grounds. Beginning in 2022, the District of Düren and the “remembrance culture representative” – again actively prepared and supported by corresponding coverage in the Dürener Zeitung – devoted themselves to redesigning the commemoration for Remembrance Day, culminating most recently in the so-called “Dance Theater” performance by young people over the graves of the war dead at the military cemetery in Vossenack on national Remembrance Day 2023.
The article here about the aforementioned “Dance Theater” concluded on 19/08/2024 with the following words:
“But pride always comes before a fall, and here too it is probably only a matter of time.”
It didn‘t take long for this fall to happen.
II. (Former) District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn
About a year before the end of his 26th year in office in October 2025, district administrator Spelthahn was provisionally suspended in November 2024 due to allegations of corruption, and an external representative appointed by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (“NRW”) was entrusted with taking over his official duties for the remainder of his term. At the time, this was reportedly an unprecedented event in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The measures taken in response withstood all legal challenges. After announcing in the meantime that he would not run for reelection, Mr Spelthahn’s office ended on 31/10/2025.
1. Mr Spelthahn‘s numerous functions
Before providing a more detailed account of the relevant developments, it is worth taking a look at an incident from the past involving the district administrator, who has been in office since 01/10/1999; this may also help in understanding the most recent incidents.
According to an article in Aachener Nachrichten dated 06/04/2013, Mr Spelthahn was, at the time, among other things, “a member of 70 supervisory boards, shareholders’ meetings, association boards, or similar bodies.” (this and all subsequent citations are translated from German language).
A request for information submitted to the District of Düren in March 2023 under the North Rhine-Westphalia Freedom of Information Act (“IFG NRW”) revealed that Mr Spelthahn had served on as many as 75 (!) committees in 2013; by April 2023, that number was still at 23.
A busy man with a wide network, then. Some people might be reminded of the German term “Rheinischer Klüngel,” which is synonymous with covert collaboration within private networks of connections, comparable to the English term “nepotism”. The author of said 2013 article had also raised the question,
“…whether the kind of political style that has become second nature to Spelthahn over the years does not sometimes run counter to democratic principles and laws.”
2. Charges of embezzlement in 2013
The reason for this question at the time was an indictment filed in August 2012 by the Aachen Public Prosecutor’s Office against Wolfgang Spelthahn on suspicion of embezzlement; the trial against Spelthahn and a co-defendant began on 09/04/2013, at the Düren County Court. As early as 19/04/2013, the proceedings were discontinued in exchange for a payment of 3,500 Euros each, because the court concluded that the main charge could no longer be proven.
Interestingly, this complex – as well as Mr Spelthahn’s numerous committee memberships – was also mentioned on his Wikipedia page until August 2024; since then, these references have disappeared.
3. The suspension of District Administrator Spelthahn in November 2024
In early November 2024, it was reported that the Cologne District Government had temporarily suspended district administrator Spelthahn from office in connection with a prosecutor’s investigation into a so-called “human trafficking scandal”. Specifically, officials from the Düren district administration are alleged to have issued illegal residence permits to “wealthy Chinese nationals” in more than 220 cases – according to the findings of the investigation at that time – in exchange for large sums of money.
a) The events leading up to Mr Spelthahn’s suspension: The “human trafficking network” and the district administration
In late April 2024, media reports indicated that “a high-ranking official in the Düren district“, who had been “active in the SPD at the local level,” was suspected of having received approximately 300,000 Euros to support a “human trafficking ring”.
In May 2024, WDR reported that two lawyers had established a political network in municipalities across North Rhine-Westphalia to assist wealthy foreigners – specifically “rich Chinese and Arabs” – in obtaining residence permits. A company owned by one of these lawyers later became the jersey sponsor of the soccer club 1. FC Düren, whose president at the time was district administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn. It was even speculated that the connections of the alleged “human trafficking ring” might extend all the way to North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Heribert Reul.
Shortly thereafter, WDR and other media outlets reported that district administrator Spelthahn was one of the individuals under investigation, with the public prosecutor’s office looking into the matter based on initial suspicions of bribery. Mr Spelthahn told the Dürener Zeitung that he was “stunned” and stated that, in order to “contribute to a full investigation”, he had even initiated disciplinary proceedings against himself.
In a comprehensive and highly readable article published on 28/05/2024, the Dürener Zeitung further noted that the Düren district administrator had cultivated “a conspicuous closeness” to one of the lawyers in question, who had provided legal counsel to the district and given lectures for it. In addition, Spelthahn had traveled to China with him at least twice. The public prosecutor’s investigation is looking into the suspicion that a “human trafficking network” brought 147 wealthy foreigners and their relatives to Germany and secured them permanent residence permits. For district administrator Spelthahn, who had been in office for 25 years at the time, the stakes would not only relate to his position but also to his pension entitlements.
In June 2024, WDR reported that the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office was investigating allegations that employees of the District of Düren Immigration Office had issued residence permits even though they knew the submitted documentation contained inaccurate information. Bribes totaling 300,000 Euros may possibly have been paid in connection with this.
On 09/07/2024, the Dürener Zeitung published another report on the matter, stating that one of the lawyers had made allegations against district administrator Spelthahn, which were, however, “brief, vague”, and solely “based on assumptions”; nevertheless, the public prosecutor’s office had initiated a preliminary investigation against Spelthahn. It was also emphasized that there had been “no raid of Spelthahn’s office, Spelthahn’s home, or Spelthahn’s bank accounts” to date, and the question was raised as to why this was the case, “given that he has been under investigation for bribery since May?”
This raid took place shortly thereafter at Mr Spelthahn’s private residence and office, as well as at a property he had “rented on Lake Ammer”. According to the respective report by “Spiegel Online” dated 11/07/2024, one of the suspects provided incriminating testimony against the district administrator, while the latter continued to maintain his innocence. Further details were provided in a report by the Dürener Zeitung on the same day.
In a report published on 29/07/2024, the Dürener Zeitung examined the background of the activities of one of the two lawyers suspected of acting as human traffickers, as well as his connections to the political sphere.
The Dürener Zeitung reported on further details of the investigation on 02/08/2024. According to the report, Mr Spelthahn’s lawyers rejected the allegations made against him, stating that additional allegations raised in the meantime regarding alleged links to sponsorship funds for 1. FC Düren were also unfounded.
b) The suspension of Mr Spelthahn on 08/11/2024, and the appointment of a representative for the District of Düren
On 08/11/2024, WDR and other media outlets reported that, according to a statement from the Cologne District Government – which was also published without comment by the Düren district administration – Mr Spelthahn had been provisionally suspended that day in connection with the so-called “human trafficking scandal” based on findings by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office; furthermore, several disciplinary proceedings had been initiated. Previously, at the end of September 2024, Mr Spelthahn had announced that, after 26 years in office, he did not intend to run for re-election in the local elections in the fall of 2025; he claimed this decision had been “made many years ago” and had nothing to do with the allegations raised – a claim even the local press, which was otherwise rather loyal to Spelthahn, doubted.
On 08/11/2024, the Dürener Zeitung reported in detail on the suspension resulting from the so-called “luxury trafficking” scandal. The report also highlighted the fact that, following the district administrator’s suspension, his official duties were not transferred to his then-deputy, Peter Kaptain, but rather to Ferdinand Aßhoff, the former head of the “Municipal Affairs” department at the Arnsberg District Government – who had been retired since 2021 – who was appointed as representative for the District of Düren (afterwards “Düren representative”). The justification given for this – that it was done “to ensure the functionality of the Düren district authority in Spelthahn’s absence” – was highly revealing.
Mr Spelthahn announced that he intended to challenge his suspension, his lawyers describing the measure as “manifestly unlawful”. The authors of the Dürener Zeitung noted that, “based on everything that has come to light so far, Spelthahn’s suspension does not allow for any conclusions regarding the district administrator’s possible involvement in a gang’s human trafficking activities”.
On 14/11/2024, the Dürener Zeitung reported on the matter again. According to the report, the Düren District Immigration Office had allegedly granted permanent residence permits to more than 80 wealthy foreigners in recent years based on falsified documents, ignoring warnings from a main customs office, the German Federal Police, and other immigration offices. The newspaper had previously reported that Mr Spelthahn had retained the Cologne-based criminal defense lawyer Benedikt Pauka to represent him, and that Pauka had stated Spelthahn would “defend himself under administrative law” against his suspension.
Subsequently, the Dürener Zeitung began publishing critical reports about Ferdinand Aßhoff, the Düren representative, who had taken over administrative leadership on the day of Mr Spelthahn’s suspension apparently until the end of the legislative term in September 2025. After he had left several inquiries from the newspaper unanswered, they speculated that he commuted “four times a week from his home in the Soest district, traveling about 170 kilometers each way to the Rhineland and back – a total of 1,360 kilometers per week.” The Dürener Zeitung’s focus of interest thus suddenly shifted from the “luxury traffickings” to the Düren representative’s travel expenses.
In another extensive report published on 25/11/2024, the Dürener Zeitung criticized, among other things, that Mr Spelthahn’s suspension had not been preceded by “an empathetic conversation”; rather, an official from the Cologne District Government had demanded an urgent meeting with the district administrator. Subsequently, the latter had packed his things and left the district administration involuntarily “after 25 years in office”. It was sarcastically noted that now “it is no longer Spelthahn, elected by the voters in the District of Düren, who is head of the district administration, the Düren police, and the district’s top representative, but Ferdinand Aßhoff, a 70-year-old retired department head of the Arnsberg District Government, residing in the municipality of Möhnesee in the Sauerland” – one could also understand this as meaning: a non-local retiree lacking the necessary professional qualifications and democratic legitimacy.
On 27/11/2024, the Dürener Zeitung reported that Spelthahn had started litigation challenging his suspension, filing an urgent motion with the Düsseldorf Administrative Court (“VG Düsseldorf”) seeking to have his provisional suspension from duty stayed. As his lawyers explained, the relevant decision was unlawful for a number of reasons and could not stand. A suspension required concrete suspicion of a serious breach of duty; as of yet, he had not even been informed of what that breach was meant to be.
On 03/12/2024, the Dürener Zeitung, represented by Volker Uerlings, the head of the Düren local news desk – with whom I had already discussed journalistic standards and unbiased reporting back in 2021 –, continued to take aim at Mr Aßhoff in a new report. According to the report, the suspended district administrator had not been replaced by his deputy, Peter Kaptain, but by “a retired and external civil servant from the Soest district”, with his age of 70 being emphasized once again. It was laconically noted that his first assignment from the Düren District Council might now be to file a lawsuit against his own appointment, as this motion had been introduced by five political groups represented in the District Council – the CDU, the Greens, the FDP, the Independent Voters’ Association, and The Left.
In addition, a “renowned law firm” was said to be commissioned to prepare an expert opinion on whether the appointment of a representative was lawful in this case. The political groups in question had doubted this and intended to “protect democratic structures”. Shortly after Mr Aßhoff took office, “with the exception of the AfD, all political groups represented in the District Council had also approached Minister of Home Affairs Ina Scharrenbach (CDU/responsible for local government) with a list of questions.” The reasons for Spelthahn’s suspension and the appointment of a representative had subsequently been explained, but not exhaustively. No “further background” had been provided as to the allegations against Mr Spelthahn.
In a special session on 04/12/2024, the District Council voted “by a large majority” – against the opposition of the SPD and parts of the AfD – to file a lawsuit challenging the appointment of a representative to perform the duties of the district administrator of the District of Düren. Furthermore, the aforementioned “renowned law firm”, with which the district “has been working in a spirit of trust for some time”, was to be commissioned to prepare said expert opinion. The lawsuit would not be an expression of mistrust towards Aßhoff, but rather an effort to determine “whether the appointment itself is truly lawful”; it was seen “also as a matter of preserving democracy.”
On the same day, Mr Uerlings commented on the situation with remarks that were as peculiar as they were ill-informed. He speculated on what would happen if there were a one-vote majority for a single faction or coalition in the District Council. In that case, “the will of the voters would be suspended for the duration of Ferdinand Aßhoff’s interim term.” This, he said, was “without any ifs or buts a matter of the principle of democracy and one of its most important values.”
On 09/12/2024, the Dürener Zeitung published another article by Mr Uerlings providing further background on the district administrator’s suspension. According to the report, the responsible supervisory authority – the Ministry of Home Affairs, Local Government, Construction, and Digitalization of North Rhine-Westphalia (“MHKBD”), headed by Ina Scharrenbach (CDU) – responded to the corresponding inquiry from the CDU, the Greens, the FDP, the Independent Voters’ Association, and The Left. The “non-public letter”, which was said to be, however, in the possession of the editorial staff, stated that the incriminating evidence against the district administrator had accumulated to such an extent that immediate action had been required. The duties could not be transferred to his deputy, Peter Kaptain, because, according to the law, his role was an independent one that had to be permanently guaranteed alongside that of the district administrator. The provisional suspension and appointment of a representative had not been routine procedures, but rather the result of a careful deliberation process that had taken into account both the impact on Mr Spelthahn and the need to uphold the public reputation of the civil service and the trust of citizens in the state and its administration.
Both the inquiry submitted by the aforementioned political groups on 13/11/2024, and the response from the MHKBD dated 06/12/2024, were made available to the operator of this website under the IFG NRW – in the former case, in a partially redacted form – and are hereby made available to the public.
c) Mr Spelthahn‘s side jobs
As part of his suspension, the Cologne District Government, acting as the lower supervisory authority, also investigated Mr Spelthahn’s income from his “side jobs” and determined an additional tax liability of approximately 48,000 Euros for the period from 2021 to 2024, which it urgently requested the Düren district authorities to collect due to the partial threat of the statute of limitations. As the Dürener Zeitung reported on 21/12/2024, the suspended district administrator had declared all income but did not consider all of it subject to tax because it involved “volunteer” rather than full-time activities. In contrast, the District Government assumed that various secondary activities performed by Spelthahn were to be attributed to his main position, resulting in an increased obligation to pay taxes. In an apparently turbulent closed-door session, the district committee addressed the matter and ultimately delegated the decision on how to proceed to Düren representative Aßhoff.
Once again, it was Volker Uerlings, the head of the Düren local news desk, who came to Spelthahn’s defense in an article on 19/01/2025 hastily, but with little substance. Thus, regarding a portion of 5,500 Euros out of the total claim of 48,000 Euros, a “clear” assessment had now been issued by the North Rhine-Westphalia County Council, according to which the committee work underlying this portion was to be considered voluntary and the remuneration was therefore not subject to tax. Mr Spelthahn had therefore accounted for this correctly. The status of the remaining amount of approximately 42,500 Euros, however, remained unclear.
4. The legal disputes regarding the suspension of Mr Spelthahn and the appointment of a representative for the District of Düren
This was followed by legal disputes over the various incidents, namely Mr Spelthahn’s provisional suspension, the appointment of Mr Aßhoff as the Düren representative, and the reduction in Mr Spelthahn’s salary – which only came to light as a result of these events. Ultimately, the courts ruled that all measures taken were lawful.
a) District of Düren challenging the appointment of the Düren representative in court
After the District of Düren had initially filed a lawsuit with the Aachen Administrative Court (“VG Aachen”) against the appointment of the Düren representative merely to meet the deadline and without substantiating it, Mr Uerlings informed the public in an article on 10/02/2025, that a “renowned law firm”, the Bonn office of law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs, represented by Dr Philipp Bender, had concluded in an expert opinion that this appointment was likely unlawful. “The Bonn-based legal experts” saw in the legal opinion – which Uerlings apparently had in his possession – a clear procedural defect as well as an unlawful encroachment on the District of Düren’s right to local self-government due to a lack of proportionality. The law firm had therefore recommended continuing the legal proceedings by promptly providing reasons for the complaint. Which law firm was to handle the court proceedings and whether it was possibly the same one that had prepared the legal opinion remained unclear at first, but was, however, subsequently confirmed.
At a special session on 19/02/2025, the Düren District Council voted – with the support of the CDU, Alliance 90/The Greens, FDP, The Left, and UWG, and against the SPD and AfD factions – to proceed with the lawsuit against the appointment of the Düren representative Aßhoff at VG Aachen. In another article in the Dürener Zeitung, it was reported that the members of the District Council had “voted by a majority to continue entrusting Redeker, Sellner, and Dahs with safeguarding their interests” – meaning that the same law firm that prepared the aforementioned legal opinion and expressed “the clear view” therein that the appointment of the external civil servant is unlawful has also taken on the representation of the District in the administrative court proceedings.
b) Details regarding the prosecutor’s investigation
In another article by Mr Uerlings, the Dürener Zeitung gave Mr Spelthahn’s criminal defense lawyer the opportunity on 21/02/2025, to comment in detail on the allegations against his client. According to the article, Spelthahn was accused of serious bribery in 84 cases. However, this would be rejected not only by “the specialist criminal defense lawyer” but also by “the few statements from the alleged ringleaders of the human trafficking ring that have been made public so far.” “Through interrogation transcripts deliberately released to the public”, it was said to had become known that two of the defendants, who had made partial confessions, independently stated that they could imagine the district administrator having been aware of the smuggling operations and having received money, albeit not from them. Mr Uerlings assessed the evidence against Mr Spelthahn as thin, noting that the presentation of further statements and evidence remained to be seen.
The article revealed an interesting new detail: the raid conducted in late January 2025 as part of the so-called “human trafficking scandal” was allegedly based on evidence suggesting, among other things, that 150,000 Euros in human trafficking proceeds had flowed to the football club 1. FC Düren – of which Mr Spelthahn was president at the time – in the form of a loan from a businessman in the Krefeld area. The contacts between this entrepreneur, the club, and the president were allegedly established by “a leader of the human trafficking ring”. According to Mr Spelthahn’s lawyer, however, this was a “completely normal loan agreement”, and any connection to the illegal human trafficking cases and speculations about alleged agreements with his client were vehemently denied. The district administrator “did not in any way participate in the fraudulent acquisition of residence permits” or know of them; nor did he demand or accept any benefits, not even in connection with his former role at 1. FC Düren.
c) VG Düsseldorf: The provisional suspension of Mr Spelthahn is lawful
In a decision dated 02/02/2025, VG Düsseldorf dismissed Mr Spelthahn’s motion for a preliminary injunction against his provisional suspension, finding that the measure taken by the Cologne District Government did not raise concerns (case no. 35 L 3442/24.O).
The Dürener Zeitung provided only a brief report on the district administrator’s defeat.
Mr Spelthahn had his lawyer file an appeal with the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (“OVG NRW”).
d) VG Düsseldorf: The provisional reduction in Mr Spelthahn’s salary is unlawful
Mr Spelthahn had more success – at first – with an application request for an interim injunction filed with VG Düsseldorf against the provisional reduction of his salary. According to a report in the Dürener Zeitung, the Cologne District Government had reduced Mr Spelthahn’s salary by 40 percent in an order dated 31/01/2025, against which the district administrator had filed said application.
In a decision dated 28/04/2025, VG Düsseldorf granted this motion and provisionally suspended the reduction (case no. 35 L 973/25.O). Mr Uerlings commented on this decision in detail in the Dürener Zeitung on 29/04/2025.
The Cologne District Government filed an appeal against the decision with OVG NRW.
e) VG Aachen: The State of North Rhine-Westphalia was allowed to appoint a Düren representative
In its judgment of 17/06/2025, VG Aachen held that the appointment of a Düren representative by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia was lawful and dismissed the lawsuit filed by the District of Düren (case no. 7 K 3220/24).
The Dürener Zeitung reported on this the same day. The article quoted, among other things, statements made in court by Christian von Kraack, a senior official at the MHKBD. He reportedly said that the Düren district administration had become a “corrupt system” and was an “organization” that did not conform to the model of a law-abiding administration, alleging that the district’s leadership had also benefited from this “corrupt system”. Furthermore, a civil servant from the MHKBD is said to have described the situation in the District of Düren as “southern Italian conditions” – in the opinion of the article’s author, “an insult not only to the suspended district administrator Spelthahn, who had been in office since 1999, but also to local politicians and administrative staff.”
According to reports, the possible appeal to OVG NRW was not filed in light of the local elections in September 2025, meaning the ruling has become final.
f) OVG NRW: The provisional reduction in Mr Spelthahn’s salary is lawful
In a final decision dated 16/07/2025, the OVG NRW overturned the first-instance decision of VG Düsseldorf and ruled that the reduction in Mr Spelthahn’s salary by the Cologne District Government was lawful (case no. 31 B 496/25.O).
Interestingly, the Dürener Zeitung, which had previously reported on Spelthahn’s success in the first instance, did not cover this story until five days later, on 21/07/2025.
g) Status of Mr Spelthahn’s appeal to OVG regarding his provisional suspension
It is unknown what became of Mr Spelthahn’s announced appeal against VG Düsseldorf’s first instance confirmation of his suspension. The appeal cannot be found; it may have been withdrawn in light of OVG NRW’s decision in favor of the district government in the parallel proceedings.
5. Further developments until the end of Mr Spelthahn’s term of office on 31/10/2025
Accordingly, all legal actions brought against the measures taken by the MHKBD and the Cologne District Government were ultimately unsuccessful. Both the suspension of district administrator Spelthahn and the reduction of his salary, as well as the appointment of the Düren representative, were found by the courts to be lawful in summary proceedings, which apply a reduced standard of review. In response to an inquiry under the IFG NRW, the District of Düren stated that it had incurred no costs at least in the proceedings concerning Mr Spelthahn’s provisional suspension and the reduction of his salary.
In a remarkable article published on 03/09/2025, the Dürener Zeitung reported, based on “investigative documents to which our newspaper had access”, on further details of the so-called “human trafficking scandal”, including alleged payments that are said to have been made to district administrator Spelthahn, among others. The public prosecutor’s office was said to now investigate 513 suspects, including 432 Chinese nationals who entered the country and 81 alleged human traffickers. It is believed that at least 81 Chinese nationals received permanent residence permits from the Düren District Immigration Office with the help of forged documents, and that an additional 141 relatives of these 81 individuals received permits under the family reunification program. Of the 432 residence permits issued with the help of forged documents known to the public prosecutor’s office at that time, 222 originated from the Düren Immigration Office. Mr Spelthahn’s defense lawyer rejected the allegations, stating that they were completely without merit.
Following the end of Mr Spelthahn’s term of office on 31/10/2025, the Dürener Zeitung published an article by Mr Uerlings the following day taking stock of the situation. According to the article, his departure took place “without a word or a sound”, which, given recent events, was only to be expected. In a phone call, the former district administrator reportedly said, among other things, that he was feeling down. He had not been allowed to enter the district administration building since his suspension and had therefore been unable to say goodbye to many of his colleagues, which pained him. He “hoped for justice” – presumably meaning that the allegations against him might turn out to be unfounded.
And so ended Mr Spelthahn’s tenure as district administrator of the District of Düren. It will be interesting to see the outcome of the prosecutor’s investigation into his case.
III. The former “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” Frank Möller
Frank Möller’s tenure as “representative for the care of the war grave sites Vossenack and Hürtgen as places of a democratic culture of remembrance and commemoration” ended no less dramatically than that of former district administrator Spelthahn: he passed away on 23/03/2025.
May he rest in peace.
IV. Pride comes before a Fall
Once again, the old saying “Pride comes before a fall” has proven true. One could also say: “There’s a limit to everything.” Ultimately, what constitutes “justice” is, once again, in the eye of the beholder.
(Head picture: Two grave candles in front of the “sarcophagus”
at the military cemetery Vossenack , October 2023)
If you wish to support my work, you can do so here. Many thanks!