After the reunification of the two parts of Germany, a certain number of “Länder” from the West took under their patronage some of the “Länder” of the East. That is when Henstedt-Ulzburg decided upon a twinning with Usedom, a little town located on the island bearing the same name.

On the request of the chairman of the Freundeskreis Maurepas of Henstedt-Ulzburg, the chairman of the CJM, in the company of his interpreter and of the secretary of the CJM, went to attend the twinning ceremony between Usedom and Henstedt-Ulzburg. The participation of French people  was most appreciated by the inhabitants of Usedom, and, with the agreement of the Town Council, the town twinned itself with Usedom. 

The town is small, the journey fairly long, so exchanges are less regular. We have welcomed groups of youngsters from Usedom and, in small numbers, they also visit us, taking advantage of the biannual visit of our friends from Henstedt-Ulzburg. Small groups of French people have visited them too and so have some young pupils from our schools. Although, because of the size of their town, they can only accommodate a small number of visitors, their welcome is always very warm.

As we had done in Henstedt-Ulzburg, we organised an exhibition of Maurepas’ partnerships, in the context of the 700^th anniversary of their town. For a few weeks, at the end of the year 2001, we held an exhibition of photos from Usedom.