Delegation from Langenstein visited Twin City in Italy

October 17th, 2025

A delegation from the community of Langenstein visited its twin city Sesto San Giovanni in Italy on Friday, October 17, 2025.

The meeting commemorated the friendship treaty (Gemellaggio) signed in 1999 between the municipalities of Sesto San Giovanni and Langenstein, which contains a mutual commitment to addressing the sad past in both communities during the Second World War and to promoting a fruitful cultural exchange.

The friendship treaty with Langenstein is an additional distinction for the city of Sesto San Giovanni, which was already awarded the "Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare" (Gold Medal for Military Valor) by the Italian Republic in 1971 in recognition of the resistance and sacrifices of its citizens during the German occupation between September 1943 and May 1945 and their contribution to the liberation of Italy.

This friendship agreement with Langenstein is intended, in particular, to keep the memory of the many people from Sesto San Giovanni in Italy alive who, for their acts of resistance during the German Nazi occupation, were deported also to the former Gusen concentration camps - a large portion of these death camps was located on the territory of the community of Langenstein in the years 1940 to 1945.

This friendship agreement was initiated between 1995 and 1999 by the chairmen of ANED, Senator Gianfranco Maris and Italo Tibaldi, together with Prof. Rudolf Haunschmied of the Gusen Memorial Committee (GMC), and was finally sealed by the two mayors, Filippo Penati and Ernst Hutsteiner.

This year, the delegation from Langenstein was led by Mayor Christian Aufreiter and received at Villa Mylius by the Chairman of the Sesto San Giovanni City Council, Mr. Davide Coccetti, on behalf of Mayor Roberto Di Stefano. A delegation from the ANED section Sesto San Giovanni and Monza, led by President Alessandro Padovani and Vice President Milena Bracesco, was also present at this reception. President Padovani also delivered a remarkable speech, despite the difficult conditions under which ANED currently conducts its memorial work in Sesto San Giovanni. The GMC was represented by Prof. Rudolf Haunschmied, who helped founding this town twinning nearly 30 yeas ago. It was also very pleasing that the now very elderly former chairman of the city council of Sesto San Giovanni, Mr. Giancarlo Castelli, who has made a significant contribution to the twinning for many years, attended the reception too.

This official visit concluded with a joint wreath-laying ceremony by the delegation from Langenstein and the ANED representatives at the resistance monument erected in 1963 in Piazza della Resistenza in front of the town hall of Sesto San Giovanni.

The multi-day visit was organized by the cultural committee of the municipality of Langenstein and was led excellently by Colonel Paul Haunschmied with an extremely informative supporting program.

A photo gallery of the the reception at Villa Mylius can be found on the official website of the city of Sesto San Giovanni.

Also the friendship treaty of 1999 can be found on the official website of the citiy of Sesto San Giovanni.

 

 

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