Controversies over remembrance? How 80 years since the end of the war are being commemorated in Berlin
Berlin is at the beginning of a week of remembrance marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation and the end of the war. But it will also be a week full of conflict, mistrust, accusations, and historical debates.
A foretaste of the balancing act and the inner conflict was provided by an event last Friday in Tempelhof, where wreaths were laid in front of a residential building. It is the house where the surrender order for the Berlin garrison was signed on May 2, 1945. Six days later, the war was officially over throughout the country.
But nothing is easy in times of the war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for three years. Therefore, unlike in years of peace, no Russian representatives were invited to Tempelhof. How difficult this was for some participants became clear on Friday. One of the organizers of the commemoration said: "It pains me deeply that we were unable to welcome any representatives of the Soviet Union or Russia here."
Berlin follows the recommendations of the Federal Foreign OfficeThe non-invitation was entirely in keeping with the Berlin Senate's intentions, which is following the Federal Foreign Office's much-criticized recommendations for the celebrations marking 80 years of liberation and the end of the war. These recommendations state that no representatives of Russia and Belarus should be invited to the commemorative events. The reason given was that there was a fear that they would instrumentalize the events.
However, since most events are open to the public, private visits are also possible, even by uninvited guests. The outcome of such a situation was recently demonstrated in Seelow, Brandenburg. There, Russian Ambassador Sergei Nechayev participated, essentially as a private citizen, in a commemoration of the Battle of the Seelow Heights . The diplomat wore the St. George Ribbon, a military insignia that is also seen in Russia as a sign of support for Putin, especially since the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeyev promptly sharply criticized Nechayev's participation. The fact that he wore the St. George ribbon was "a clear mockery of the victims—the victims of 80 years ago and the victims of today," Makeyev said.
Such debates are also possible around the numerous events taking place during this week of remembrance in Berlin. The central event for the state of Berlin will take place on the morning of May 7th at the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall). Speeches by Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and Speaker of the House of Representatives Cornelia Seibeld (both CDU) have been announced, as well as a reading by honorary citizen Margot Friedländer. To avoid being vulnerable, the Senate Chancellery has not invited any foreign representatives, regardless of nationality. Not even federal representatives are on the guest list. A very Berlin way, if you will.
The following day, May 8, the Governing Mayor will meet with representatives of the Bundestag and the federal government on several occasions. In the morning, he will attend a memorial service at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which will also be attended by representatives of the newly elected federal government. Afterwards, he will accept an invitation from Bundestag President Julia Klöckner to attend a memorial service in the Bundestag. The commemorative speech will be delivered by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Among the complicated protocol issues for a dignified commemoration in times of war in Eastern Europe are answers to the questions: Who lays wreaths at which memorials in Berlin, when and with whom?
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Berlin Senate has refrained from laying wreaths at the Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park. Senate representatives last laid a wreath at the memorial on Straße des 17. Juni in Tiergarten in May 2022 – at the invitation of the Ukrainian Embassy. This was an affront to Moscow, which sees Russia as a so-called successor state of the Soviet Union.
In subsequent years, at the request of the Ukrainian Embassy, Kai Wegner and the ambassador laid wreaths at the Neue Wache in Mitte. This is also planned for this year.
Wegner himself, however, still has a wreath-laying appointment afterward. A "silent commemoration" is planned later that day at the Soviet Memorial in Schönholzer Heide in Pankow, private to avoid provocation. The memorial there is not as much in the spotlight as those in Treptower Park or Tiergarten. Yet, with approximately 13,000 Soviet dead, it is home to the largest cemetery of its kind in Berlin.
Nevertheless, especially on May 9, the day Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany, all eyes turn to Treptow. In recent years, Ambassador Nechayev has laid wreaths there, as well as in Tiergarten.
As every year, Treptower Park is also the declared destination of the Russian motorcycle club Night Wolves. However, it remains to be seen whether Putin's propaganda bikers will even be allowed to enter the EU. And only at the very end will it become clear whether the flag ban, which the Berlin Senate has again enacted, has been observed.
Either way, the atmosphere will be completely different from the last major Berlin commemoration of the end of the war ten years ago. For then-Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD), it was "a celebration among friends." But even then, the images from Treptow were bizarre: Numerous Soviet uniforms were on display, plenty of flags, Putin on T-shirts, and nationalist rockers being celebrated by the crowd.
Berliner-zeitung
