Offenbach and its Offenbachers
Residents of Offenbach and their city are in a tense relationship with each other. Immigrants generally remain free of this. At least until they too have become established residents and thus lose their impartiality.
You can tell when you ask Offenbach residents about their city. They usually start by listing what Offenbach is not. No idyll, no Rothenburg ob der Tauber, no tourist destination, no city with that charm that immediately embraces, enchants and beguiles the stranger.
This is usually followed by a few attempts at explanation: it once grew up as an industrial town, far too quickly of course, and is therefore characterized by industrious sobriety, fixed on practicality and utility. The shadow of the neighboring metropolis is also mentioned. And it always sounds like an embarrassed plea for forgiveness.
It could stem from this embarrassment that one also encounters passionate confessions to the hometown to the same extent. There is often something defiant about them. They conjure up a nonetheless, so to speak, although occasionally the pendulum swings far in the opposite direction, in the direction of glossing over. After all, the citizen's city is a piece of his own identity; its stains also stain his own person.
Offenbachers have become so comfortable in this complicated emotional world that they mistrust any change. For him, change is an intrusion that jeopardizes balance. New things are therefore first examined for their disadvantages. There is always something there. But this only lasts until the new thing has become familiar. Then it is defended.
Satisfying an Offenbacher therefore requires patience. He finds satisfaction very questionable from a moral point of view. Dissatisfaction is the shirt that covers his nakedness and keeps him warm to boot.
You need to know all this if you want to find out how affectionate Offenbachers are towards their city: Warm-hearted, but for heaven's sake not hot-tempered.
Text: Lothar Braun