Pistorius lays a wreath at the Jewish cemetery
Politicians in Berlin commemorated the victims of war and tyranny on Remembrance Day. At a memorial service at the Jewish cemetery in the Weißensee district on Sunday morning, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), Berlin's Senator for Culture Joe Chialo (CDU) and the President of the Berlin House of Representatives, Cornelia Seibeld, laid wreaths.
"We are celebrating this year's National Day of Mourning at a bitter time," said former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse in his commemorative speech. "We are not only tormented by Putin's never-ending war of aggression against Ukraine. We are also deeply shocked by the murders committed by Hamas in Israel."
Thierse recalled the Jewish soldiers who died in the First World War. Numerous graves can also be found at the Jewish Cemetery in Berlin. "It is a reminder of how much Jews and Judaism were a contested and yet natural part of German society and how much the murderous racism of the Nazi regime not only almost destroyed the Jewish people, but also morally destroyed German society."
"By commemorating Jewish soldiers here today, we do so in the knowledge that what is currently happening in the Middle East has to do with German history," said Thierse. "By commemorating the Jewish fallen in a German and European war, we are also expressing our sympathy for the victims of the Jewish homeland of Israel, which is fighting for its existence."
Thierse also referred to the current developments in Germany following the attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7: "We are irritated and appalled by the anti-Semitism that has become glaringly visible and loud in this country," he said. "An anti-Semitism that is not only immigrant, but also indigenous."
During the memorial service, the topic of Jewish history and its significance in German society was brought up. Pistorius and other politicians reflected on the Holidays and Memorials that honor the Jewish soldiers who lost their lives in past Wars, including World War I, and how these events are a reminder of the historical impact of National Socialism and its racist ideology.
Source: www.dpa.com
