Thuringia: Lives that ended too soon: How heart trees in Gera provide comfort to grieving parents

2023-11-05 02:38:52

As of: November 4th, 2023 7:31 p.m

There has been a heart forest in the Windischenbernsdorf district of Gera since 2018. Here parents and siblings of deceased children can find comfort in a very special atmosphere between the trees.

By Andreas Dreißel, MDR THÜRINGIA

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For five years, grieving parents and siblings have been meeting in the Herzenswald to commemorate.

In the morning there is a special atmosphere over the Herzenswald in Gera’s residential area “An der Wildbirne”. The young trees rustle quietly in the wind, as if each wanted to tell a story. On the trees: hearts, pictures and signs with first names. A Place of remembrance for grieving parents and siblingswho lost their loved ones far too early: through illness or accidents.

There are already more than 35 trees in the Herzenswald.

Kornelia Fernholtz initiated the Herzenswald together with Cornelia and Holger Günther. The first trees were planted here in 2018, and since then the forest has grown year after year. Many of the parents choose a tree that had a special meaning for their child.

“It’s different here than in a cemetery,” says Holger Günther. “Many parents also come here to celebrate the birthday of their deceased children.” This Saturday a particularly large number came to the Herzenswald. Like every year in November, they want to hand over the new trees to the families.

Many parents also come here to celebrate the birthday of their deceased children.
Initiator Holger Günther |

A touching ceremony in which poems, songs and a speech remember those who are missing in the families. At the end, Kornelia Fernholtz reads out the children’s names. 36 first names, 36 lives that ended too soon. Many of those present hold hands or hug each other.

For relatives, nothing is as it used to be

Providing support is also the goal of the regional office for orphaned parents and grieving siblings in Eastern Thuringia, which Cornelia and Holger Günther founded in 2007. From their own experience, as the two tell it, their son Christoph died in a traffic accident at the age of 21.

At that time they experienced a lot of sympathy. “However, life went on very quickly for everyone after the funeral,” says Cornelia Günther. “But for us nothing was the same as before.”

In the Herzenswald in Gera, pictures, hearts and names remind us of deceased children.

The Christmas season is particularly difficult, adds Kornelia Fernholtz. Community can give strength. Especially when the loss is still fresh. Kerstin Geier came to Herzenswald for the first time on Saturday. In November 2021, her son died of cancer at the age of 31. At that time she sought psychological help.

She heard about the group in Gera while taking a treatment with her husband and has been taking part in the meetings ever since. Being able to talk to other sufferers and share the pain makes it a little easier for her.

Personal messages in the Geraer Herzenswald for those who left far too soon.

Mourning in community

Five families have been looked after by the self-help group since this year. In the Herzenswald they take over trees from former members who have moved away from the region. “The forest should also be a symbol of life,” says Holger Günther.

The forest is also said to be a symbol of life.
Initiator Holger Günther |

Parents or siblings of deceased children initially did not know what to do next where they can find help. “When will the pain stop?” the Günthers are often asked. “The pain will never stop,” they say, but you can learn to live with it. The group’s community and places like the Heart Forest can help.

Hospice movement supports dying people in Gera

She has a heart tree Hospice movement Gera taken into care. The club, which turns 20 next year, supports the dying and seriously ill through personal support in a difficult phase of life.

Link to the Hospice Movement Gera eV arrow on the right

The Gera hospice movement remembers those who died this year on its tree.

The 42 trained hospice attendants work on a voluntary basis and look after around 40 people every year. “We are especially approached by older people who have no family or whose social environment is not so intact,” says coordinator Tony Tinney.

Then an intensive phase of support begins. Sometimes that means just listening. The association also offers individual discussions for those who are grieving. They too can now commemorate their loved ones in the Herzenswald.

MDR (dvs)