Controversy about commemorative celebrations: Russia takes part in the world war commemoration in Torgau

The controversy to participate in Russian representatives at memorial events at the end of World War II continues to come to a head. The Russian ambassador Sergei Netschajew wants to take part in the celebrations in Torgau in Saxony on the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the meeting of American and Soviet soldiers.

The ambassador will “accept the invitation of the city of Torgau,” said a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Berlin to the German Press Agency on request. According to the city of Torgau, the foreign representations of several countries – including Russia – were not explicitly invited, but informed about the public event.

Kretschmer takes note of Netschajews

The independent mayor Henrik Simon made it clear that the ambassador will not be prevented in participating. However, the request for a right to speak was “but” so as not to give a platform, “he told the dpa.

Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who will speak at the commemoration, only took note of the ambassador and pointed out that it was an event of the city of Torgau.

AfD calls for a right for Netschajew

The Federal Foreign Office recommended that the federal government and the federal government’s municipalities and memorials to not allow Russian guests to be able to admit any commemorative events. This was justified with the fear that Russia could “instrumentalize these events and to combine his attack war against Ukraine”.

The Saxon AfD parliamentary group criticized this recommendation and even called for a right to speak for Netschajew. “During the Second World War, the Red Army of the Soviet Union had to pay the greatest blood collar,” said its chairman Jörg Urban. “How the Federal Foreign Office can advise against admitting Russian representatives to world war memorial events is completely incomprehensible to me.”

Controversy began with commemoration on the Seelower heights

The controversy had started to participate in Netschajews last week at a memorial event on the Seelower Höhen east of Berlin. The greatest battle of the Second World War had taken place on German soil 80 years ago, in which 35,000 Soviet, 16,000 German and 2,000 Polish soldiers were killed. The Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev had sharply criticized Netschajews in the commemoration: “Anyone who takes part in the commemoration with him can be instrumentalized and relativized Russia’s today’s war crimes.”

In any case, the recommendation of the Federal Foreign Office has not led to a uniform line of the federal, state and municipalities. The Bundestag Netschajew excluded from the central commemoration in parliament on May 8th and the Brandenburg Memorial Foundation does not allow Russian representatives at the end of the world war at the end of the World War. In Seelow and now in Torgau, however, it was decided differently.

However, the deputy CDU chairman Kretschmer emphasized that the memory “cannot be committed from the current military aggression in Russia”. The most important teaching from World War II was to prevent further wars, he told the dpa. “With the war of attack against Ukraine contrary to international law, Russia has left this common foundation.”

Trump and Putin conjured up the “Spirit of the Elbe” in 2020

On April 25th, Torgau commemorates the so-called Elbe Day every year, where American and Soviet soldiers met on the destroyed Elbe bridge. The photo of the handshake of Torgau went as a symbol of the end of the Second World War and the liberation from the National Socialist tyranny around the world.

On the 75th anniversary of 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, who was at the time during his first term, had recognized the anniversary in a joint statement. “The” Spirit of the Elbe “is an example of how our countries can put differences aside, build trust and work together for a bigger cause,” they wrote.

Cancellation of the commemoration after Russian attack 2022

Two years later, the commemorative celebrations in Torgau were canceled at short notice. The reason was the Russian attack on Ukraine two months earlier. “The current situation and the daily events appear to be advised not to carry out such a meeting this year,” said the city of Torgau at the time.