Army Europe commander visits Baden-Württemberg's Minister President

STUTTGART, Germany -- U.S. Army Europe Commanding General Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges traveled here, Jan. 18, 2017, for a working lunch with Baden-Württemberg's Minister President Winfried Kretschmann.

While in Stuttgart, Hodges also visited the Stuttgart State Theater and the Stauffenberg Memorial to learn more about the historical connection between the U.S. Army and the German state.

Christiane Pyka, director of the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum (DAZ) / James F. Byrnes Institute, and Thomas Koch, director of communications for the Stuttgart Opera, met Hodges at the State Theater.

While Koch led the group on a tour of the historic theater, which for a time after the Second World War served as a U.S. Army recreation center, Pyka explained the importance of the theater to the post-World War II German-American relationship.

On September 6, 1946, then Secretary of State James F. Byrnes delivered a speech on the United States' policy towards Germany in the theater. In his speech, now referred to as "The Speech of Hope," Byrnes stated that, "the American people want to help the German people to win their way back to an honorable place among the free and peace-loving nations of the world."

He also reassured his audience that, "We will not shirk our duty. We are not withdrawing. We are staying here. As long as there is an occupation army in Germany, the American armed forces will be part of that occupation army."

Following the visit to the State Theater and a short look-in at the DAZ, Hodges walked to the Stauffenberg Memorial in Stuttgart's Old Palace.

Dr. Christopher Dowe of the Memorial's staff led Hodges through the exhibits in the small museum dedicated to the brothers Claus and Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, both of whom were executed by the Nazis for their roles in the July 20, 1944 attempt on Adolf Hitler's life. German Major General (Ret) Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, Claus's son, joined the group and described his experiences as a young officer in the then newly formed Bundeswehr or German Armed Forces.

Hodge's lunch with Minister President Kretschmann took place in the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry.

The State Ministry is the seat of Baden-Württemberg's state government and is in the Villa Reitzenstein, where in October 1945, Gen. Lucius D. Clay established the Länderrat or Council of States, a precursor of today's upper house of the German Federal Parliament.

After Kretschmann welcomed his guests, Hodges explained his responsibility for the security and quality of life for the U.S. forces in Baden-Württemberg and the other German states.

In his relationships with the German states and with U.S. allies, Hodges said, he wants to be as transparent as possible. Transparency serves to foster the trust that must exist between allies, and to provide assurance of the U.S. commitment. He emphasized the importance of working together with our NATO allies to provide peace and stability in Europe and to deter aggression.

Kretschmann confirmed the Baden-Württemberg State Government's belief in the importance of NATO and expressed the need for a stronger role for the European Union in security and foreign policy issues. The lunch ended with an invitation from Hodges for Kretschmann and members of his government to visit the U.S. Army in Europe Headquarters in Wiesbaden.

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