Nazi war dead are buried in Germany, sparking debate about national memory.
Nazi war dead are buried in Germany, sparking debate about national memory.
Even though World War II ended 80 years ago on Thursday, German soldiers' remains are still being discovered throughout Europe. Questions about remembrance are being rekindled by the discovery and the German commission tasked with giving them "dignified" graves, as Germany's far-right AfD party unites behind a larger attempt to recast national memory.
A meeting for veterans has concluded in the small town of Maymack in central France. All objects were debated on the agenda when Edmund Lekele, 95, of the group, announced that he had a secret that he could no longer hold. The former Resistance member explained to the participants, like a French woman suspected of working with 7 German soldiers and employees on June 19
They were near Tulle a few days ago, so if there were no means to keep them prisoners and the soldiers feared destroying Maymack, the group decided to kill the prisoners. Their bodies could still be buried on nearby forested hills, Reveil said. Maymack's mayor, who was present at the
meeting, had no idea about the drama unfolding in the community until Reveil confessed in 2019. After spending years waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to exist and years to get the green light from authorities, the search for the bodies began in August 2023.
A Dutch couple discovered a Nazi helmet while digging water pipes on Polish property. After a massive excavation effort by the Volksband, the bodies of 120 German civilians and eight soldiers were found in March 2023 from the depths of the garden. And in early 2023, Volksband discovered the bones of 1 German soldier in a small town in western Ukraine.
Whether Nazi soldiers and children are trapped in cannon fire or not, the Volksband's purpose is to search and retrieve the bodies of Germans who died in the First War and World War II and who offer "valuable" funerals. According to the committee, she is "committed to a culture of memory,"
Founded in 1919, the Volksband was a citizen's initiative before it was submitted to the Nazi government and the Welmachtgraves Service. When World War II ended, the Volksband was slowly restructured, and in 1945, the German government officially asked the organisation to take on the role it is today.
The Commission has said it receives more than 20,000 inquiries per year about the location of Germans who died or went missing in both world wars. It claims to be primarily self-financed through donations and "earnings and declining incomes." Countries generally have organizations similar to the Volksband, such as the French ONACVG and the Federal Graves Commission. However, when it comes to Germany, memories are constantly fighting the past, and Volksband's activities can become a controversial issue.
Thorny Question
Critics of Volksband claim that the committee is indirectly bringing life to World War II victims with the proper burial of Welmahat Soldett. And even Markus Meckel, the former president of the organization, recognized the complexity of burying the bodies of German soldiers in an interview with the New York Times. "How do we lament, and do we remember these soldiers without respect for them?" he said.
Volksband activity is becoming increasingly confused with the rise of extremist parties across Europe. For the first time since World War II, 80 years ago, the right-wing extremist party lost the AFD in the German parliamentary elections on February 23, doubling its votes since 2021.
The party is a passionate supporter of the Volks Band. In October 2023, His guide, Weidell, called on the German government to provide financial support to the organization.
Die Link of Germany criticized the use of public funds on the Volksband, describing it as "extremely unbearable." In response, Volksband argued that "war has a permanent, gentle right." "There is a risk of Volksband being misused," says Darren Obirn, a contemporary German historian at Cambridge University.
"It existed before the AFD, but his interests agree with the party's interests for the honorable treatment of Germany's war."
However, Obirn, who lived in Germany for 12 years, says that the controversy over domestic organizations "has been "not been much debated" and that the work they do is "very respected."
"[Volksbund] explains how many people perceive it as a rather secular challenge," he explains. "Overall, there appears to be a broad political consensus among the German parties. Overall, it's an appreciation for their work. This is not the only party that wants to provide public funding."
We'll go home together. The senior AFD personality is hoping to end the country's postwar reputation, describing Berlin's Holocaust memorial as a "memorial of shame."
"Whether [Volksbund] exists or not, it will play a very low role in changing German memorial culture," says O'byrne. "That does not mean there is no concrete responsibility."
"There is also a dissonance between the public's perceptions of the People's Association from outside and the German path," explains the historian. "National socialism is evil in Western historical perception. It is north of the moral compass. So it's not surprising that other countries say it. I participated, but have I mostly promoted the biggest human disaster in modern history? " Does that depend on who deserves a funeral?
Gray Zone
Lucien Tisserand was in the Memorial Belt from 1991 to 2014 as a custody account for the Normandy LA Cam Cemetery. Ruins of World War II. "Many people knew [where the German soldiers were buried], but they didn't say anything. It was taboo. I remember that the bodies were on his property, but they would detour them so they didn't overtake them." More World War II veterans leave their children with the legacy of trauma
Like Reveil, a former resistance fighter who had been waiting to go to the stock exchange for more than 70 years. After all the others in the group who saw the murder with him died, he decided that it was time - he did not want to bring a secret to his grave with him.
"We felt embarrassed. Did we have any options?" Reine told La Vie Correzienne, which first published the certificate in May 2023. After it was in the media, the story spread like a fire. And in the execution of the body search that began in August 2023, Reine critics said they smeared images of French resistance by talking about the massive murder. He had clouded the heroic paintings they had maintained since the end of the war. "[Reine] provided history. His critics were interested in memory. They were interested in the version of the story that was probably connected by their identity."
A search was conducted at Meymac in the 60s, with 11 of the 7 bodies being cancelled five days later. In October 2024, the search effort received a "last chance." The excavation continued three days before it officially closed. As hours passed, a man like Rayle, who lived and was his first event during World War II. "As soon as the last victim, perpetrator, or viewer dies, the Third Reich stops becoming a living memory. "Then we can negotiate which lessons the living will take away."
Historians end with a careful look at the future. "In this climate, everything is being questioned again. Now that we are at a turning point in history, everything is being renegotiated.
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