German president warns against forgetting WWII lessons on anniversary
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier reminded the country of the lessons learned from World War II in a major speech on Thursday, as Germany commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe and the downfall of the Nazi dictatorship.
"We know where isolation leads, where aggressive nationalism and contempt for democratic institutions lead. We have already lost democracy once in Germany," Steinmeier said in a speech to Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, attended by foreign diplomats based in Berlin.
"Let us trust in our experience! Let us stand up for our values. Let us not freeze in fear," he said.
The president emphasized that May 8 has become central to the identity of the whole of Germany.
Today, he said, Germans no longer need to ask whether May 8 represented liberation. "But we ask: How can we remain free?"
International order under attack
Steinmeier noted that the United States was currently calling into question the international order built after World War II.
He said Washington's policies and Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked a "double break with history."
"Russia's war of aggression and America's breach of values mark the end of this long 20th century."
Steinmeier said the fascination with authoritarianism and populist temptations are also gaining ground in Europe, and doubts about democracy are being voiced.
Extremist forces in Germany
The German president expressed concern about the rise of extremist forces in the country.
These forces mock the institutions of democracy, poison debates, play on people's fears, trade in fear and incite people against each other, he said.
"Anyone who wants good for this country must protect coexistence, cohesion and the peaceful reconciliation of interests. I expect this of all democrats in this country," Steinmeier said to prolonged applause in the lower house of parliament.
The anniversary comes just two days after the new German government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office, with the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany forming the largest party in the opposition.
Directing a warning towards the AfD, Steinmeier cautioned against attempts to "close the book on our history and our responsibility."
He said he was surprised by the stubbornness with which some people, "unfortunately also in this house," were calling for this.
"Let us not flee from our history. Let us not throw its lessons overboard, especially when they demand something of us. That would be both cowardly and wrong," he said.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner echoed this warning in her speech at the opening of the special ceremony in parliament.
"To this day, not everyone is aware of the monstrous extent of the German crimes. Or worse still, many no longer want to deal with it," she said.
Forgotten victims of the war
Klöckner highlighted the forgotten victims of the brutal war, emphasizing the suffering of the Polish nation, and of the scale of German destruction in modern-day Belarus and Russia.
She also brought up the plight of the German women who faced sexual violence by invading forces, drawing a direct parallel to the conflict in Ukraine.
Among others, the Israeli and Ukrainian ambassadors to Germany, Ron Prosor and Oleksii Makeiev, as well as the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, sat in the public gallery during the memorial service.
Ambassadors from Russia and Belarus were not invited to the ceremony due to their governments' involvement in the war against Ukraine.
80 years on
The event marks eight decades since Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, which came into effect late on May 8, 1945 - when it was already May 9 in Moscow.
The war, started by Adolf Hitler's regime in 1939, resulted in the death of between 50 million and over 60 million people worldwide, most of them civilians.
The Soviet Union was particularly hard hit, with around 27 million dead. Germany lost around 6.3 million people, including many soldiers.
Fighting in the Asia-Pacific continued for several months after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, ending hostilities, on September 2, 1945.
Commemorations were taking place in capitals including Paris and Ottawa. Moscow will hold its annual Victory Day parade on Friday. London held a smaller parade earlier in the week.
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