Former German president warns of far right at 80th anniversary of Buchenwald liberation
VIENNA (AP) — Germany marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi's Buchenwald concentration camp on Sunday, with warnings against global 'radicalization and a worldwide shift to the right'
The governor of the state of Thuringia Mario Voigt and former German President Christian Wulff spoke at a ceremony in the city of Weimar, attended by scores, including several Holocaust survivors from across Europe.
Voigt said that Buchenwald was 'a place of systematic dehumanization' and that everything that happened at the death camp 'was designed to break the human spirit and its dignity.' He also said that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel showed that 'the intention to exterminate Jews is not a thing of the past.'
Voigt was referring to the attack by the Palestinian militant group that left some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage, sparking the war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli retaliatory offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians and wounded 115,338, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
In his speech, former German President Christian Wulff issued a stark warning about the current global political situation.
'Due to the brutalization and radicalization and a worldwide shift to the right, I can now — and this makes me uneasy — imagine more clearly how this could have happened back then,' Wulff said, referring to Nazi terror and the developments leading up to it.
He called for active commitment to democracy and the preservation of humanity. He said: 'We bear a permanent, ongoing, eternal responsibility from this because evil must never be allowed to prevail again.'
Wulff also criticized the anti-immigrant and far-right Alternative for Germany party. He said that those who 'trivialize' the far-right party 'are ignoring the fact that the Alternative for Germany's ideology is creating a breeding ground for people to feel uncomfortable in Germany and that they are actually in real danger.'
In the run-up to the memorial event, Israeli officials objected to a planned commemoration speech by philosopher Omri Boehm, a grandson of a Holocaust survivor and a known critic of the Israeli government and its actions in Gaza. This prompted organizers to withdraw the invitation.
Buchenwald, established in 1937, was located in what today is the eastern German state of Thuringia. More than 56,000 of the 280,000 inmates at Buchenwald and satellite camps were murdered by the Nazis or died as a result of hunger, illness or medical experiments before it was liberated by U.S. Army troops on April 11, 1945.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel attacks Iran: What we know so far
Israel has attacked several Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites, and carried out assassinations of top military officials and nuclear scientists. The aggression has led to fears of a wider military conflict in the region, with Tehran promising a 'harsh response'. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that Israel faces a 'bitter and painful' fate following the attack. 'By God's will, the powerful hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished,' he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a prerecorded message that the strikes early on Friday were aimed at hurting Iran's nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories. Strikes have been confirmed in the following locations: The capital, Tehran, and military sites in the surrounding area. The city of Natanz, where explosions were reported at the main uranium enrichment facility. The city of Tabriz, where explosions have been reported near a nuclear research centre and two military bases. The city of Isfahan, south of Tehran. The city of Arak, southwest of Tehran. The city of Kermanshah, west of Tehran. Images posted on social media showed damaged structures, including residential buildings, across the Iranian capital. According to Iranian media, Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian military, were among those killed in the Israeli attack. State-run news outlet Nour News said Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani was 'critically injured'. According to Tasnim, the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, Major-General Gholamali Rashid, was killed. Al Jazeera's Tohid Asadi, who is reporting from the Iranian capital, Tehran, said that aside from military officials, two top nuclear scientists, Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Tehranchi, were also killed in targeted assassinations. Abbasi was the former chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, while Tehranchi was the head of the Islamic Azad in Iran woke up to terrifying scenes of destruction in their neighbourhoods. In a statement, Khamenei said Israel 'opened its dirty and bloody hand to a crime' against Iran, revealing its evil nature more than ever by striking residential centres. 'The regime must expect severe punishment.' Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesperson for Iran's armed forces, was quoted by Iranian media as saying that Israel will pay a 'heavy price' for its attacks. Israeli military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said Israel had reached a 'point of no return' with the attack on Friday. Describing the early morning strikes on Iran as a 'fight to preserve our existence', Zamir said Israel launched the attacks as it could not 'wait for another moment to act'. He also said: 'Anyone who tries to challenge us will pay a heavy price.' Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, congratulating the Israeli army for its attack. Iran and the United States are currently involved in talks on Iran's nuclear programme, aiming to reach an agreement that would limit the programme in return for sanctions relief for Iran. In an interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump said Washington was not involved in the Israeli strikes. 'Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,' Trump said, adding that the US will help defend Israel if Iran retaliates. Trump is expected to convene a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday morning, the White House said. In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the operation. 'Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Rubio said. 'Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.' Opposition Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said the Israeli strikes are 'clearly intended to scuttle' the Trump administration's diplomacy with Iran. Attacking nuclear facilities can cause several consequences of unpredictable scope, including radioactive leaks, explosions and long-term contamination. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says the UN body is closely monitoring the situation in Iran. He said that the IAEA can confirm that the Natanz site was among the targets hit by Israel. 'The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country.' In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for 'maximum restraint' to avoid 'descent into deeper conflict' following the Israeli strike. 'The Secretary-General condemns any military escalation in the Middle East,' his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said. 'He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear programme are underway.' Oman, which is mediating nuclear talks between the US and Iran, called Israel's action 'a dangerous, reckless escalation, representing a flagrant violation' of the UN charter. 'Such aggressive, persistent behavior is unacceptable and further destabilizes the regional peace and security. 'The Sultanate of Oman holds Israel responsible for this escalation and its consequences, and calls upon the international community to adopt a firm and unequivocal stance to halt this dangerous course of action.'
The Hill
30 minutes ago
- The Hill
What to know about the Group of Seven summit in Canada that Trump will attend
TORONTO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive Sunday for a Group of Seven summit in a country he has suggested should be annexed and as he wages a trade war with America's longstanding allies. Trump's calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won his office by pledging to confront the U.S. president's increased aggression, now hosts the G7 summit. Carney asserted this week that Washington no longer plays a predominant role on the world stage, imposing tariffs for access to its markets and reducing its contributions to collective security. Carney has decided to abandon the annual practice of issuing a lengthy joint statement, or communiqué, at the summit's conclusion as French President Emmanuel Macron did at the G7 summit in France in 2019. The document typically outlines the consensus reached by leaders on summit issues and provides a roadmap for how they plan to tackle them. Trump roiled the 2017 meeting in Italy over the climate change passage in that summit's final statement. He then withdrew his support from the 2018 communiqué after complaining he had been slighted by then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the host that year. The leaders of the world's richest countries begin arriving Sunday in the resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. The Group of Seven comprises Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. The European Union also attends as well as other heads of state who are not part of the G7 but have been invited by Carney. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend and is expected to meet with Trump, a reunion coming just months after their contentious Oval Office encounter, which laid bare the risks of having a meeting with the U.S. president. Other world leaders will be meeting with Trump both in a group setting and for bilateral talks, which are often precarious as foreign leaders must navigate between placating and confronting him. 'Anything could happen. The Canadians would be crazy not to anticipate something. We can't tell. That's Trump stock and trade. He likes to keep everyone guessing,' said Robert Bothwell, a University of Toronto professor of Canadian history and international relations. 'It all depends what kind of theater he's going to want to have,' he said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will attend and said she expects to have her first in-person meeting with Trump. On his way to Canada, Macron is making a notable stop in Greenland, the semi autonomous Danish territory that the U.S. president has also suggested annexing. Among the other newcomers are German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Starmer will meet with Carney on Saturday in Ottawa before flying to Alberta. Carney also invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite accusations from Canada's national police force that agents of Modi's government were involved in 'widespread' violence in Canada. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, was invited but will not attend. The 2018 G7 summit in Quebec was thrown into disarray after Trump called Trudeau 'dishonest' and 'weak,' while complaining that he had been blindsided by Trudeau's criticism of Trump's tariff threats at a summit-ending news conference. Trump pulled out of the G7 group statement just as it was released. 'We weren't too happy because we thought we managed to pull off a pretty good summit,' said Peter Boehm, Canada's deputy minister for the Quebec summit.' The reaction — and I was with Mr. Trudeau at the time — was a bit of disbelief.' Boehm expects a chair's summary from Carney this year instead of a joint statement from the leaders. During the Quebec summit, Trump also insisted on Russia's readmission to the elite group, from which it was ousted in 2014 following President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea. 'Trump raised that at the foreign policy dinner,' Boehm recalled. 'It was a bit awkward because British Prime Minister Theresa May was there and some British citizens had just been killed by Russian operatives using a toxic agent.' Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were targeted in a nerve agent attack a few months before the Quebec summit in the English city of Salisbury. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has said that Carney has been quietly holding direct talks with Trump about a trade deal in the lead up to the summit. Separately, top Canadian cabinet ministers have also been in Washington for negotiations in recent weeks. Trade tensions may be unavoidable. The United States runs trade deficits with all G7 countries except the United Kingdom. In an effort to balance what he describes as America's lopsided trade relations, Trump has imposed 10% import taxes — tariffs — on almost every country in the world. He also announced bigger tariffs, then suspended them, on countries that sell more to the United States than they buy. 'The big X Factor (is) the looming tariffs,' said Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'The G7 is supposed to provide global economic governance. And the way the Europeans see it right now is that the country that's the source of major instability in global economic affairs is the United States.'' Trump's trade wars are already threatening the world economy. The World Bank on Tuesday sharply downgraded its forecast for global economic growth this year, citing 'a substantial rise in trade barriers.'' NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will attend the G7 meeting ahead of this month's NATO summit and has said most U.S. allies in the alliance endorse Trump's demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense needs. Carney said this week Canada would meet NATO's current 2% target but seemed to suggest he would not support 5%, saying his goal is to protect Canadians, and not to satisfy NATO accountants. Law enforcement overseeing security expect large protests but say protesters won't be able to get anywhere near Kananaskis, as access roads to the summit will be closed to the public. The Mounties say there will be designated G7 demonstration zones in Calgary and Banff, Alberta that will have live audio and video feeds, which will be broadcast to G7 leaders and delegations at the summit. Kananaskis also hosted a G8 summit in 2002. ___ Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Israel's attack kills Islamic Revolutionary Guard chief
The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, has been killed in an Israeli attack, the Iranian news agency Tasnim, considered the mouthpiece of the IRGC, reported on Friday. Salami, commander in chief of the IRGC, was killed in an attack on the headquarters of the IRGC's high command, the agency said. He was considered one of the most powerful men in the Islamic Republic. General Staff Chief Mohammad Bagheri was also said to have been targeted in an attack, according to unconfirmed reports from Iranian media. However, the state news agency Irna stated that he was unharmed and located in a command centre. However, Tasnim confirmed the killing of two prominent nuclear scientists. According to the news agency, both Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a professor of physics, and former nuclear chief Fereydoun Abbasi were killed in the attack. The IRGC is Iran's elite military force, far more powerful than the conventional armed forces. Over the past decades, it has not only been heavily militarized but has also expanded its societal and economic influence. Today, it is considered an economic powerhouse, with stakes in industries including hotel chains and airlines.
