Fatima Chapel

The reason for the construction of the Fatima Chapel was a church service on 24 September in the second last year of the war in 1944. As our late local historian August Hettich describes as a contemporary, a vow was made at a church service at 6 p.m. in a solemn closing prayer for the Day of Perpetual Adoration to build a shrine in honour of the Mother of God if the town was spared from the war. For almost seven months, this threat of bombing passed Furtwangen by, until on 21 April 1945, in the last days of the war, four enemy low-flying aircraft heavily bombarded the town with incendiary bombs. There was only a slight fire in the roof truss of the Maier photo shop. A German officer commented that there was rarely a place as unscathed as Furtwangen. No houses were destroyed, although around 1200 rounds of incendiary ammunition were fired. Three days later, the town was in danger of being destroyed by the advancing French troops, as the local commander, Major Schneider, wanted to defend Furtwangen. Guns were dug in all around the town. On the night of 24 April 1945, a Tuesday, many German troops withdrew, but new ones arrived. The population was fearful. Suddenly, all the troops withdrew to the east. The local commander was the last to leave the town at 10 pm. The background to this departure has since been clarified through research by First Lieutenant Semlow from Husum. Early in the morning of 25 April 1945, Furtwangen was empty of German troops, and the town was handed over to the French, who entered at 1 p.m., without a fight; Furtwangen was saved, a sudden relaxation. An event that everyone marvelled at.

Now the obligation to build the vowed memorial chapel was clearly given. Two years later, after the worst post-war hardship had been overcome, construction began by marking out the site, which was determined by the foundation council above the cemetery on the edge of the Winterberg forest with its sweeping view over the town. The foundation stone was laid just four months later on 20 July 1945, and on 15 August 1945, which was also a public holiday at the time - the Feast of the Assumption - the building was solemnly consecrated by the two priests, the war pastor and Benedictine priest, Alfons Simon, and the parish priest and later honorary citizen, Stefan Blattmann. Prayers were also said for the return home of the prisoners of war, some of whom were still in Russian and French captivity.