Berlin
Leaders from Germany and Poland this week rejected a proposal to build a memorial in Berlin to the 15 million Germans deported from Eastern Europe after World War II. The German League of Expellees asked for the monument to recognize their suffering. “It’s difficult to talk about,” said Friedrich Vetter, whose family was kicked out of what is now Poland when he was 5. “I cry almost every time.” But the proposal opened old wounds in the Czech Republic and Poland, where a recent newspaper headline blared, “No Sympathy With the Germans!” The Czech and Polish governments kicked out ethnic Germans as retribution for Nazi aggression. A memorial would distort history by implying that German suffering was on a par with that of the countries that Germany vanquished, said Tadeusz Cegielski, a Warsaw University professor. “They were victims of their own war.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why is the Trump administration talking about ‘Western civilization’?Talking Points Rubio says Europe, US bonded by religion and ancestry
-
Quentin Deranque: a student’s death energizes the French far rightIN THE SPOTLIGHT Reactions to the violent killing of an ultraconservative activist offer a glimpse at the culture wars roiling France ahead of next year’s elections.
-
Secured vs. unsecured loans: how do they differ and which is better?the explainer They are distinguished by the level of risk and the inclusion of collateral
