Latest news with #Paderborn
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of self-harm. No trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was stationed. In an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for answers. Ms Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second birthday. Katrice ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and drowned. However, Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible abduction. He told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality." In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial investigation. Five years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's disappearance. The information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 years. He said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness. "I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight." Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can." In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Father of girl missing since 1981 to meet minister Missing girl exhibition 'brings visitors to tears' 'I will never stop hunting for my lost daughter'
BBC News
21 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality."In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness."I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight."Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can."In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
This grab taken from video shows performers dancing as they hold raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers, inside Paderborn's cathedral, Germany, Friday May 16, 2025. (RTL via AP) BERLIN — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. Article by Stefanie Dazio. Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings." The show, "Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' (' Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story." The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier 's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___ Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
