Cologne - Edelweisspiratenfestival

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany - and one of the oldest. A Germanic tribe, the Ubii, had a settlement here, this was named by the Romans "Oppidum Ubiorum". In 50 AD, the Romans founded "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", the city then became the provincial capital of "Germania Inferior".

The "Edelweisspiraten" (Edelweiss Pirates) were a loosely organized group of youth, opposing the paramilitary nature of the "Hitler Youth" in Nazi Germany. During the war, many Edelweisspiraten, most of them between 14 and 18 years old, supported the Allies and assisted deserters from the German Army. Of course the Nazis responded. In 1944 a group of thirteen people, the heads of the Ehrenfelder Gruppe, were publicly hanged in Cologne. Nevertheless, the repression never managed to break the spirit of the Pirates, which constituted a subculture that rejected the norms of Nazi society.

www.museenkoeln.de/ausstellungen/nsd_0404_edelweiss/index...

As music was very important for the Edelweisspiraten, the Festival named after them is a kind of living memorial, honouring the brave, nonconformistic youths.

About 20 bands perform in different stages in the Friedenpark.

A duo performing old songs in "Kölsch", the dialect spoken in Cologne. The accordion sound reminds on French chansons. On the right Betsy de Torres watches the stage. She is one of the festival´s organizers.