From his duty station thousands of miles away from home, Army Spc. Stefan Powdrill has found a connection to Arlington with its sister city of Bad Königshofen, Germany.
The cities’ relationship dates back to 1951, when Arlington residents sent thousands of pounds of supplies to Bad Königshofen as the town received hundreds of refugees who fled communist East Germany.
More than 70 years later, Arlington and Bad Königshofen’s bond remains strong – however, Powdrill noticed residents in the town are more aware of the relationship than their Arlington counterparts.
“They’re flying our flag in front of their city hall,” Powdrill said. “They have murals of Arlington, Texas, in a bowling alley. Like, this is the real deal. In Arlington, if you were to go down the street and ask somebody about this place, they would be like, ‘What?’”
The town of about 7,000 was Powdrill’s first major trip outside his station in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Halfway through Powdrill’s first visit in 2023, as he visited shops, museums and parks, he decided to film. His first video on Instagram and TikTok garnered intrigue from viewers in both countries.
@stefanpowdrill It took me a LONG time to pronounce Bad Königshofen correctly so pls watch lmao Many cities have sister cities with the purpose of “promoting peace through people-to-people relationships.” @City of Arlington and Bad Königshofen recently celebrated thier 72nd anniversary of peace. You may be familiar with the Bad Königshofen family aquatic center in South Arlington that is dedicated to our sisters in Germany! Promote peace ☮️ by getting involved in your community! This is just one of the many opportunities in Arlington! Everything. Starts. Local. #arlingtontx #germany #activatearlington #texas #dfw #fyp ♬ original sound - Stefan Powdrill
“The first week I posted, I had people from Arlington saying, ‘Wow, I didn’t know about this.’ The people who did know about it were telling me how grateful they were that I had the opportunity to be able to go,” Powdrill said.
A firefighter and police officer from Bad Königshofen invited him back for a July festival. Powdrill returned – this time, with an itinerary, a delegation from Arlington and plans for a second video.
The delegation included members of Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, the group that manages Arlington’s sister cities program, as well as firefighters and a UT Arlington student.
Pedro Arevalo, who is part of the Sister Cities Committee, described the visit as “extraordinary.”
“It’s a beautiful country, beautiful people,” he said. “Everybody had open arms with us as soon as we got there.”
Powdrill said he didn’t set out to create social media content when he first made the visit, but he wants to spread awareness of the relationship.
“I just want to get it on Arlington residents’ radar, and that was the intent of the video. I’m glad that, you know, it picked up steam so people could realize,” he said.
@stefanpowdrill So happy I got the opportunity to visit my friends in our sister city Bad Königshofen for a second time! Arlington and Bad Königshofen’s long standing and Humanitarian relationship was strengthened this weekend. Many cities have sister cities with the purpose of “promoting peace through people-to-people relationships.” Arlington and Bad Königshofen recently celebrated their 72nd anniversary of peace. Help me spread the word about this unique relationship! Thank you to the firegighters and community members of Bad Königshofen for your warm welcome, I cant wait to host you in Arlington one day! (I have a previous video of my visit last year, which could provide some more info and context) Mr. Burgomaster, Tommy, Patrick, Niklas, Lone Star Bomberos, Arlington Fire Department, Bruce and Chere Maxwell, and community members. Thank you! #fyp#fypl#arlingtontxx#texasr#germanyl#miltokt#activatearlingtonw#dfwl#dallasr#fortworthd#badkönigshofena#traveltiktokat#natol#arlingtonfiredepartmentg#aggtown ♬ original sound - Stefan Powdrill
Powdrill plans to return to Bad Königshofen and possibly bring people from his duty station who are from North Texas. He also wants to become more involved with Arlington’s sister cities program.
Former Arlington City Councilmember Sheri Capehart has managed the program for years. Capehart said it’s not surprising Bad Königshofen residents are more aware of the sister cities relationship. Though both cities were about the same size in 1951, Arlington exploded in population, while Bad Königshofen remains roughly the same size it was post-World War II.
However, the story behind the bond is one worth knowing, Capehart said.
“The story in and of itself, in my opinion, it’s one of the finest hours of humanitarian relief that a city in the United States has shown that soon after World War II. I think that’s significant. It’s a history we need to be extremely proud of,” she said.
Capehart learned about the relationship during her first term in office in 2000, when she asked about a poster hanging in the city council and mayor’s office. Over the years, she became more interested – and more involved – in keeping the relationship alive.
“It just kind of became my project,” she said. “Nobody assigned it to me. Nobody said, ‘Please do this, Sheri.’ I just started doing it, and then I was the one who kind of knew the most.”
Capehart said she feels good about the continued relationship with Bad Königshofen when she sees enthusiasm from people like Powdrill.
“If you don’t have Stefans, you can’t survive. You’ve got to always have the younger generation coming up behind you to keep it alive,” she said.
Larger sister cities program imminent
Arlington’s sister cities program, managed by the nonprofit Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, may soon have new relationships to foster.
Bruce Maxwell, the nonprofit’s longtime president, said the board approved its own expansion and the formation of subgroups focused on individual partnerships. Maxwell now chairs the German Committee.
“To have this opportunity to expand the program to other cities so they can highlight Arlington and the things that we offer and the things we have, it’s pretty exciting to do that,” he said.
The restructuring follows years of calls to add more sister cities to Arlington’s roster – particularly cities that could foster business or educational exchanges. Among the cities and countries floated for new sister cities relationships include Santo Domingo, Ecuador; Mexico; and Windsor, Canada.
The city and Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, have yet to formally announce new cities.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross is set to discuss the sister cities program during a launch party for the book “Sister Cities Forever” by Linda Altoonian at 4 p.m. Aug. 8 at the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library.
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