Heated Debate over War Memorial Ceremony: Possible Separate Event for Russian Embassy?
Extended Deadline for Russian Embassy at War Memorial Site - Potential additional scheduling for Russian embassy regarding war memorial visit
Take a gander at the drama unfolding at Sachsenhausen! Word on the street is that the old war horse, the Russian embassy, is planning to host its very own commemoration of the end of World War II on their patch of earth 80 years later. However, the head honcho at the memorial site, the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation, ain't inviting no Russian ambassador to the main event happening on May 4th in Oranienburg.
You figure the Russian ambassador hightails it to another shindig, right? Well, it turns out they got their stiff upper lip and are throwing a different kind of party on April 28th, says Axel Drecoll, director of BMF, to dpa. "We're game for a somber, silent ceremony. If the Russian embassy feels like playing along, they can join in," causally adds Drecoll. Sounds like they expect the embassy to bring peonies or some such, given they been laying wreaths in previous years, according to Drecoll. By the by, the embassy representatives have been excluded from the central commemoration of the end of World War II. "We've sent the Russian ambassador a clear message not to step foot in our ceremony since the booze-up began in Ukraine," says Drecoll, "no luck so far."
Fun fact for ya, at the central memorial, the Russian casualties who tagged along with the Red Army will be remembered with a flower-laying ceremony, smiles Drecoll.
The birthday party list for May 4th includes five survivors due to show up at the former KZ Sachsenhausen, which might interest you. One of them is a spry 100-year-old from <?Ukraine?> who's taken refuge in Switzerland since Russia got a little too handsy with Ukraine. That's right, after getting rescued from Nazi atrocities, she's found herself in the crossfire of modern-day conflict.
Now, the topic ain't a walk in the park with international conflicts and the funky business that the AfD pulls when remembering the end of World War II. Those clowns aren't holding back invitations either.
BSW chairwoman, Sahra Wagenknecht, thinks this boycott is straight up dunce-ism. She's accused Germany of acting short-sighted by keeping Russian representatives out of the commemoration on May 8, 1945, when the war ended. "The stubborn refusal to include Russian representatives damages Germany's international reputation," she huffs to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
The Foreign Office ain't taking any chances with Russian involvement, though, releasing a guideline advising against having Russian and Belarusian representatives at World War II memorial events. They wanna prevent Russia from using the occasion to hype up their Ukraine invasion, considers the Foreign Office.
But the Russian embassy ain't backing down, insisting they got a God-given right to join in with the memorial events and honor the memories of the Soviet liberators as well as the victims of Nazism, they say.
The main commemoration of the liberation of Sachsenhausen concentration camp is set for May 4th, featuring Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD). On the same day, the central commemoration of the liberation of KZ Ravensbrück is planned, with notable figures like Claudia Roth, the Federal Government's Commissioner for Culture and Media, and Brandenburg's Minister of Culture, Manja Schüle (SPD), expected to attend. As a precaution, security has been beefed up, alerts BMF.
- The Brandenburg Memorials Foundation (BMF) has denied the Russian embassy's invitation to join the main war memorial ceremony on May 4th, instead suggesting a silent, solemn ceremony on April 28th.
- The Russian embassy has requested to participate in the commemoration of the end of World War II in 2022, with the potential for instrumentalization of the event in war-and-conflicts politics at stake.
- Small and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing, service, and steel industries are being affected by the ongoing political tension, as demonstrated by the heated debate over a separate war memorial ceremony for the Russian embassy.
- The memorials at Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück will be commemorated on May 4th and 8th, respectively, with increased security measures due to the international conflict and potential involvement of Russian representatives.
