Team spirit that lives on to this day.

The 1971 Opel GT, which can never be missing from any of the annual gatherings, is still in excellent condition. And all those who came together in Hartmut Niehage’s classic car workshop are in good shape too. They were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the start of their vocational training as toolmakers at Opel. Of the 60 or so apprentices who started in Rüsselsheim on August 1, 1971, twelve saw each other again in Wiesbaden-Nordenstadt. And for the first time at an annual reunion, the majority were retirees. Only host Niehage and one other in the group are still professionally active. The other ten retired from Opel in recent years.

The cohort last met five years ago. “This time, however, we decided to meet again in 2022,” says Rainer Friedrich, who at 67 is the nestor of the group. “Firstly, because it was so nice, and secondly, because time flies by so fast.” And because the feeling of togetherness lives on to this day.