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Speech in the Bundestag on 8 May 1985 during the Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the End of War in Europe and of National-Socialist Tyranny.

Autor: Weizsäcker, Richard von
Erschienen: Berlin, 1985
Quelle: Office of the Bundespräsident (ret.) Richard von Weizsäcker.

Abstract

In his speech on the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II Richard von Weizsäcker articulated the historic responsibility of Germany and Germans for the crimes of Nazism. In contrast to the way the end of the war was still perceived by a majority of people in Germany at the time, he defined the 8th of May as a day of liberation. Weizsäcker pointed out the inseparable link between the Nazi takeover of Germany and the tragedies caused by the Second World War. Although, Weizsäcker stated that "there is no such thing as the guilt or innocence of an entire nation" because "guilt is like innocence not collective, but personal", he called it necessary for the post-war generation to accept the grave legacy of there past and to keep alive the memories.
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Weizsäcker, Richard von

Richard von Weizsäcker (* 1920) was Bundespräsident of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 till 1994. During his term he pleaded for reconciliation between East and West, and he initiated numerous talks with East German representatives. Before his federal presidency he was mayor of the city of Berlin (1981-1984), served on many ecclesiastic councils of the evangelist church and represented the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Bundestag.
 

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