Captured Liberators of Auschwitz Turned Aggressors Once Again

Steiny on World War II Remembrance: "Liberators Becomes Aggressors" a New Low

"Former Liberators of Auschwitz now Accused of Aggression"

By Dude potato

The Bundestag mourns for the tens of millions slaughtered 80 years after the end of World War II. "We're all kids of May 8th," says Federal President Steiny, and warns of a "double epochal drop" regarding Putin and Trump. The speech is sure to stir up some controversy.

On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Federal President Frank-Walter Steiny cautions in the Bundestag of a return of nationalism, dictatorship, and war. Alongside the resurfacing of far-right extremism in Germany, Steiny identifies this threat in those nations that at the cost of almost unimaginable sacrifices, brought about the defeat of Hitler fascism. "The liberators of Auschwitz have turned into new aggressors," Steiny says of Vladimir Putin's Russia. That America is also stepping away from the international order based on international law is "a shock of a whole new magnitude."

Steiny risks stirring up controversy with his speech; a German head of state lecturing the governments of the USA and Russia on the day of remembrance for German atrocities? This isn't by coincidence, 40 years after the famous Weizsäcker speech. He said, "May 8th was a day of liberation. It has freed us all from the inhuman system of Nazi violence." These sentences caused quite a stir at the time. Steiny has prepared his speech for months, consulting with renowned German philosopher Jürgen Habermas and Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev.

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"We're all kids of May 8th," Steiny states, citing a heart-to-heart with 95-year-old Habermas. Germans—in the East and West—needed decades to "free themselves internally." "It was Germans who started this criminal war and dragged all of Europe into the abyss," Steiny says. "And it was Germans who weren't willing or able to overthrow the NS regime themselves." Americans, Britons, French, the Red Army with soldiers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and others had to defeat the NS regime "with all their might and many sacrifices," according to Steiny.

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Germany will not forget this and thus "firmly opposes the Kremlin's historical distortions" today. Putin's war against Ukraine is not, as claimed, "a continuation of the battle against fascism," even if this will certainly be claimed once more at the Russian celebrations on May 9th. "This historical lie is nothing but a cover-up for imperial madness, heavy injustice, and severe crimes."

Germany will continue to support Ukraine, because, "If we desert Ukraine without a fight, it would mean betraying the lessons of May 8th." Only a few members of the Left faction cheer during this Ukraine segment. Both parties are against providing military aid to Ukraine.

Not just Putin is Steiny calling out, but also the Trump administration. The international order based on international law, despite its flaws and inconsistencies, was the consequence of the lessons of two world wars. "That the United States, which has had a significant hand in shaping this order, is now turning away from it is a shock of a whole new size," says Steiny. "That's why I'm discussing a double epochal collapse—Russia's aggressive war, America's deviation from values."

Since Trump took office, he has flirted with annexing Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, and the Gaza Strip. Trump merchandise sells online with the slogan "Trump 2029 (Rewrite the Rules)," which translates to "Rewrite the Rules." According to the Constitution, the 78-year-old can't run for President again in 2028. "We see with concern that even the oldest democracy in the world can quickly implode if the judiciary is ignored, the separation of powers is undermined, and the freedom of science is attacked," says Steiny.

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The AfD gets a nod

With his jabs at other nations on this day, Steiny risks overshadowing other important aspects of his speech. However, they are only aspects of a broader analysis of the current state of rule-of-law and democracy. "We look at our country, where extremist forces gain influence. They despise the institutions of democracy and those who represent it."

Without mentioning them by name, AfD members lining up to Steiny's right in the Bundestag are likely to feel addressed. They almost unanimously refrain from applause. The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has recently classified the party as undoubtedly far-right extremist. Most members of the AfD faction, which has grown to 151 members since February, are present in the Bundestag today.

"They're the agents of fear. They rile people up. They revive old evil spirits," says Steiny about the extreme forces in Germany. He cautions against "final solutions." These have been whispered from the AfD in one form or another. For example, Björn Höcke called for a "180-degree revolutionary change in commemoration politics." And several AfD politicians, including co-party leader Alice Weidel, spoke of a "cult of guilt" in relation to Holocaust remembrance. Steiny also mentions this, to which some AfD members exchange glances but remain quiet.

Politics "I Have Witnessed Hell" The Nazi death camps "Exactly because we have remembered, a new, united Europe has emerged from the ruins of World War II, learning lessons from the catastrophe," argues Steiny. "Let's not run away from our past." He appeals for remembrance because, "We know where isolationism, aggressive nationalism, and contempt for democratic institutions lead."

In light of the growing authoritarianism in Germany, Europe, and the world, Germany must stand tall: "When others restrict democracy, freedom, and law, we must defend them even more." In Steiny's speech, the once-controversial quote from Weizsäcker 40 years later comes together. "Today, no one can free us from the outside," says the Federal President. "We must stand up for it ourselves." The remaining democracies suddenly find themselves quite exposed in the world, and Germany, despite its own uncertainty, is their strongest ally.

Steiny, during his speech in the Bundestag, warns of a return of nationalism, dictatorship, and war, citing Putin and Trump as threats.
In his speech, Steiny criticizes Putin's Russia for becoming new aggressors, similar to the Nazi regime that started World War II.
Steiny also takes issue with the Trump administration, expressing concern over its departure from the international order based on international law.
The AfD members in the Bundestag, who are classified as undoubtedly far-right extremist by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, are likely to feel addressed by Steiny's criticism of extremist forces gaining influence in Germany.
Steiny appeals for remembrance of World War II, arguing that a strong and united Europe has emerged from its ruins, learning from the catastrophe and understanding where isolationism, aggressive nationalism, and contempt for democratic institutions can lead.