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| The tall man who called to the Dominicans in Walberberg. |
In the 1960s a tall man called to the Dominicans in Walberberg on the Rhein in Germany. It was a sleepy Sunday afternoon. The man asked to see a Dominican priest, Basilius Streithoven, who was a friend of his. He was shown into a parlour inside the hall door.
Nothing happened after 10 minutes. He was still waiting in the room 30 minutes later. He stayed an hour and then decided to leave.
The following day he telephoned his Dominican friend to tell him what had happened. The Dominican was apologetic, embarrassed too. The man, who had answered the door of the priory, forgot to tell Fr Basilius Streithoven that there had been a visitor for him.
The man who called to the door in Walberberg that day had come from Rhöndorf on the Rhein.
His house today in Rhöndorf is a museum. It had been built by the famous former Mayor of Cologne as a refuge from the Nazis.
The man who called that day to Walberberg was the then German Chancellor Dr Konrad Adenauer.
Derek Scally is reporting on the upcoming Federal election in Germany in this week's Irish Times. His piece today is about Adeanuer. Of course Derek would never have heard of the Walberberg incident.
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