Kleine weiße Friedenstaube - OFFENE GESPRÄCHSRUNDE - Zum 100. Geburtstag von Erika Schirmer… der Verfasserin & Komponistin des Kinderliedes „Kleine weiße Friedenstaube“

Little White Dove of Peace
Sunday | 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. - OPEN DISCUSSION

Marking the 100th birthday of Erika Schirmer… the writer and composer of the children’s song “Little White Dove of Peace”
… a song that (almost) all children who grew up in the GDR learned and sang. In 1949, Erika Schirmer, then a kindergarten teacher from Nordhausen, composed and wrote the lyrics for this song —after seeing a poster for the 1949 Paris World Peace Congress featuring Pablo Picasso’s drawingLa Colombe, which later became world-famous as the “Peace Dove.” 

“I thought: You should fly, dove of peace, tell everyone here that we never want war again, we want peace,” Schirmer recalls. “I then sang the song to my children at the kindergarten—my student teachers took the song with them… and that’s actually how it spread.”

The song became part of the songbooks published by Volk und Wissen in the GDR until 1990. But even today, the verses with their simple melody are known in many countries. It wasn’t until 2022 that Marianne Rosenberg released the children’s song on a benefit single against the unjust war of aggression against Ukraine. 

Very few people know Erika Schimer herself. She was committed throughout her life—as a kindergarten teacher and educator—and as recently as 2023, she actively campaigned for peace at demonstrations against the unjust war of aggression against Ukraine. She was also a gifted paper-cut artist who wrote and published songs, poems, and short stories. In recognition of her outstanding artistic work and social commitment, Erika Schimer was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Nordhausen in a ceremony on May 7, 2014. The Polish town of Czerwiensk, a neighboring town to her former birthplace of Schlesisch-Nettkow near Grünberg in Silesia, also awarded her honorary citizenship in 2014 in recognition of her efforts to foster good neighborly relations with Poland and to promote the integration of foreign nationals in Germany. In October 2016, Erika Schirmer was honored with the Cross of Merit on Ribbon for her more than 50 years of commitment in a wide variety of ways to peace, humanity, values education, and democracy.

Today’s event presents Erika Schirmer’s profoundly impressive life’s workthrough images and text—particularly her wonderful artistic endeavors as well as her consistently principled civic education work. A key focus is on early music education in kindergartens and schools in the GDR. To this end, we will be speaking with kindergarten teachers who bring their own memories of the song from their work.And as a guest of honor, Erika Schirmer will join us via video.

All interested parties are cordially invited… toget to know her betterand, of course, to congratulate her…

Admission: by donation