Milk stars bloom: a garden is reminiscent of forgotten escape stories

Milk stars bloom: a garden is reminiscent of forgotten escape stories

On April 19, 2025, an impressive project was created to memory of flight and displacement that manifests itself in nature. The artist Annelies Senfter has created a "garden in the forest" in Arnbach, in which she planted milk stars to commemorate the persecuted Jews who fled to Italy during National Socialism. This moving place at the Sillian - Arnbach border crossing symbolically stands for the dangers associated with this escape. As reported Dolomitenstadt, the milk star, also called "Star of Bethlehem", was deliberately chosen for the dangerous escape as well as for the people who helped the persecuted.

in November 2022 Senfter planted the milk stars, but they did not bloom in the following spring 2023. Possible causes were eaten or rotten root tubers and the cold. Despite these setbacks, the artist did not give up hope. She kept returning to her garden and finally saw the first small milk stars at the former border crossing in spring 2025. These flowers are not only a memory sign for the persecuted people, but also for those who risk their lives to help them.

The exhibition "Protocol of silence"

for November 11, 2025, Annelies Senfter plans an exhibition entitled "Protocols of the Silence", which is to be opened in the new gallery in Innsbruck. Near the Eduard Wallnöfer-Platz, the exhibition will linger on the history of flight and displacement. Interestingly, the name of the Rosa Stallbaumer, which was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942, is enrolled in the liberation monument in Innsbruck, which further reinforces the close connection to the topic.

The social relevance of the culture of remembrance should not be underestimated. As [bpb.de] (https://www.bpb.de/themen/deutschlandarchiv/132983/ Distribution Disporshipsundsund- and- remnachkultur/), the topic of expulsion and its processing remains a controversial and significant element of German history. The examination of compulsory migration and its consequences after the Second World War is supported by numerous books and research. These deal with the history of the displaced persons and their integration as well as the culture of remembrance in Germany. The importance of such projects, such as that of Senfter, shows the responsibility to also deal and keep difficult chapters of history alive.

The various publications that deal with the displacement discourse also offer perspectives and insights into the complex topic and show how important it is not to be forgotten these stories. The historical context, which has been created by an opening of East Central European Archives since the 1990s, has contributed to deepening the knowledge of these events and reviving the discourse on flight and displacement.