Dorsten's History - Station 44 Town Twinnings Translation: Lyn

In the draft version of the programme for the 75th remembrance annivesary of
the bombardment of Dorsten "75 Jahre Bombardierung Dorsten", it was planned
to have the official opening of the History Station "Town Twinnings"
("Städtepartnerschaften") at "am Platz der deutschen Einheit" and to have a
town-twinning evening celebration in the community hall of the church, "St
Johannes", with representatives of the twin towns.

Unfortunately, this international Remembrance Weekend "Gedenkwochenende".
which had been planned with such effort and detail, had to be cancelled because
of the Virus-Crisis. A new date has not yet been set.

	1963	_	The political path of reconciliation and understanding set by the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the French President Charles de Gaulle results in numerous town-twinnings, which have survived up until the present day. The contacts to the twin towns of Dorsten are upkept by circles of freinds. church parishes, schools and associations.
Signing of the first Town-twinning Charter	1973	_	After the town council had made the decision to find an English twin town, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) ("Rat der Gemeinden und Regionen Europas" (RGRE)) negotiated a town-twinning with Crawley.
	1981	_	In the 1960's, young people from Dorsten participated in the "workcamps" of the national alliance for the upkeep of German War Graves, the "Volksbundes Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge", in Dormans, which continue to take place every year and whose motto is "Working for Peace - Reconciliaton across the Graves". "Arbeit für dn Frieden - Versöhnung über den Gräbern". The contacts made at that time, lead in that year to the official town-twinning with Dormans in France.
	1985	_	The initiative of the "Third World" ("Dritte Welt") Association and the actor, Dietmar Schönherr, result in a town-twinning with Waslala / Nicaragua. Numerous projects in co-operation with third parties support self-help ventures (e.g. Reafforestation, Water supply, social facilities, infrastructure). The town-twinning, in the same year, with the French town of Ernée, is the result of several youth-exchange programmes in the 1960's. The European Council acknowledges the European engagement of the town of Dorsten and of its citizens by awarding the European Flag.
	1988	_	Following an informational meeting, in 1950, between the youth club of Dorsten known as the "Dorstener Jugendring" and the Northern-Ireland town of Newtownabbey a friendship is formed, which is supported by the church parishes, in particular. After the end of the so-called "Troubles" (Nordirland-Konflikt), the partnership gains new impetus. Following the communal restructuring in Northern Ireland. the partnership is extended to include the neighbouring commune of Antrim.
	1990	_	In the year of the Reunification of Germany, on the initiative of the town and several citizens, the town-twinning with the Saxon town of Hainichen is established. At the beginning, the town of Dorsten supports its East-German (ostdeutsche) twin town to cope with the new political, economic and administrative relationships, following the end of the GDR. ("DDR").
	1994	_	The connections, made over many years, between the town of Dorsten and those exiled from their Upper Silesian home after World War II, result, after the fall of the "Iron Curtain", in a town-twinning between Dorsten and Rybnik in Poland, which is also celebrated with yearly-alternating Rybnik-Days "Rybnik-Tage". In this year, the town of Dorsten starts a town-twinning with the town Hod Hasharonin Israel. Private contacts still continue to be the basis for this town-twinning. The European Council in Strasbourg awards the town of Dorsten the Honorary Plaque.
The Town-Twinning Fountain in Dorsten-Holsterhausen, built in 1995	2003	_	The town-twinning partnerships between Dorsten-Rybnik-Antrim and Newtonabbey have been in existence since this year.