60 years after German KL Auchwitz-Birkenau

[ChrisS]

Thank you Marek I am indebted to you for your reminder.

I am in total agreement with you Franek. The Germans, AND the Austrians, that lived through that period are responsible for their governments actions. There of course was a minority that did not support nor vote for the Nazi Party. There is an even smaller minority that passively opposed the Nazis and an even smaller number that actively resisted Nazism. The Austrian whitewash is perhaps the most vomit inducing. I have four young girls that love the film 'Sound of Music', I cannot watch the theatre scene where the Ausrian audience claps and sings along to an Austrain patriotic song. Sheer rubbish! They would have drowned out the song with 'Die Fahne Hoch' and chased them off the stage. It is said that the streets around Austrian army barracks were strewn with Austrian Army cap badges on the day of the Anschluss.

So do todays Germans AND Austrians bear a responsibility? I would argue yes the do. The scars of war remain not only for the millions of war children that have grown up without parents, for the millions of relatives still alive today that mourn lost loved ones for the millions who were maimed physically and mentally. Todays Germans owe the former allies two great debts, firstly for resisting Hitler and liberating their country from him and secondly a debt of remorse for those whoose lives Hitler inexorably changed by waging war.

As the Premier of Poland rather tactlessly, but none-the-less truthfully, pointed out that his country would have had 10 million more citizens and thus more votes in the EU had not the Nazis murdered them.

Respectfully

Chris