Traveling exhibition at the “60 Years” leisure center on Stovener Straße invites you to visit for two weeks
Rheine. It is an extraordinary exhibition that aroused the interest of around 60 visitors at the opening: 60 years of migration from Portugal is the title of the presentation, which can be seen every day until September 15 in the hall of the Portuguese leisure center on Stoverner Straße.
It is organized by the town twinning association and the Portuguese association. Reiner Wellmann welcomed Marisa Cloppenborg, representing the Portuguese Consulate General, historian Anna Glettenberg and Deputy Mayor Fabian Lenz on behalf of the organizers.
“The Portuguese community in Rheine has become an integral part of the population. Over the past 60 years, the Portuguese have made Rheine their home and become fellow citizens, neighbors and friends,” said Wellmann in his welcoming address. He also referred to the exceptionally well-functioning town twinning with the Portuguese twin town Leiria.
Marisa Cloppenborg praised the way in which the exhibition tells history with pictures and illustrations. “It’s very nice that this living room is so full of people today,” she said, referring to the lovely atmosphere in the leisure center.
“The Portuguese who came in the 60s and 70s contributed a lot to the development and progress of Germany. Their descendants learned the language and the customs, they adapted, integrated and today are a symbol of multiculturalism, of seizing opportunities,” emphasized Alfredo Stoffel, Chairman of the Gri-DPA association, which conceived the exhibition.
In his speech, Nelson Rodrigues emphasized that the Portuguese leisure center, founded in 1967, is one of the oldest Portuguese migrant institutions in Germany. The center was founded by the so-called “guest workers” who were employed as textile workers at the companies Kümpers & Söhne and FA Kümpers. “Portugal was still under the Salazar dictatorship and the colonial war was draining the country,” said Rodrigues, explaining the interest of many workers from Portugal in a perspective abroad. Many skilled workers had professional knowledge in the field of weaving, for example. With the first family reunifications in 1967, 1968 and 1969, the Portuguese community emerged. “There were indications that up to 2,000 Portuguese people lived in Rheine,” said Rodrigues in his review. Overall, Portuguese migration to the city of Rheine had brought a positive balance, a good workforce and cultural enrichment. Through the partnership with Leiria, Rheine is living Europe. Together, this partnership is seen as an opportunity. “The people of Portuguese origin are already fully integrated after two generations. They are an integral part of the city,” concluded the speaker.
A presentation of pictures put together by Gerd Cosse then met with great interest. They come from the Peter Heckhuis collection and show interesting scenes from the beginnings of the Portuguese community in Rheine. A murmur went through the room again and again when the Portuguese recognized themselves in their younger years or family members. The pictures are on permanent display in a video show during the opening hours of the exhibition.