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Former German Foreign minister [[Joschka Fischer]] commented on Steinbach, and her initiative for a Centre Against Expulsions to ''...have caused serious damage to German-Polish relations. Not amongst extremist nationalist forces that do exist in Poland, but amongst old friends and major agents for reconciliation between our two countries.'' |
Former German Foreign minister [[Joschka Fischer]] commented on Steinbach, and her initiative for a Centre Against Expulsions to ''...have caused serious damage to German-Polish relations. Not amongst extremist nationalist forces that do exist in Poland, but amongst old friends and major agents for reconciliation between our two countries.'' |
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Critics in Poland oppose the idea of a permanent research centre in Berlin devoted to victims of expulsion, such as deported Germans, Jews, Poles, Greeks Armenians and Muslims. They claim this suggests a moral equivalence between victims that would make the responsibility issue less clear. German officials and other analysts conclude however that the main reason for the criticism is Polish domestic politics where anti-German sentiment is being exploited to further Polish nationalism and to help the troubled current Polish government win the coming elections. Under pressure from their government Polish institutions have demanded back items loaned to the "Forced Paths" exhibit. One of the exhibits is a bell from the [[Wilhelm Gustloff (ship)|Wilhelm Gustloff]] where close to 9000 civilians died, which had been used to decorate a Polish fish restaurant until the exhibit. <ref>[[International Herald Tribune]] 2006-08-31 [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/30/news/poland.php "Poles riled by Berlin exhibition, Germans’ expulsion after the war is its focus", By Mark Landler]</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 06:30, 3 September 2006
The Centre Against Expulsions (German: Zentrum gegen Vertreibungen, ZgV) is a planned German documentation centre for expulsions and ethnic cleansing, particularly the Expulsion of Germans after World War II from Eastern Germany and other parts of Eastern Europe following the Soviet offensive and occupation, to be erected in Berlin.
The proposal for the documentation centre was initiated by the Federation of Expellees, and is supported by the CDU/CSU faction in the German parliament as well as the Chancellor Angela Merkel who intend to support building the centre.
The foundation Centre Against Expulsions with seat in Wiesbaden is headed by CDU politician Erika Steinbach.
Purpose
The official purposes of the Centre Against Expulsions are to:
- document the flight and expulsion of more than 15 million Germans, as well as the expulsion of other peoples, especially in 20th century Europe,
- collect and compile oral and written witness reports from all expulsion and evacuation zones,
- make the culture, fate and history of displaced Europeans (including Germans) known in context, as well as their respective homelands
- remind of the integration of the displaced persons as well as their social reception in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic,
- clear the backlog of current expulsions with temporary exhibitions, and
- construct a Requiem Rotunda that evokes contemplation and prayer in remembrance of the victims.
Support
The Centre Against Expulsions have been supported by a number of human rights activists, historians, political scientists and authors as well as other people. Among these supporters are the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Dr. Jose Ayala Lasso, Nobel laureate Imre Kertész, Joachim Gauck, Milan Horacek, former Austrian crown prince Otto von Habsburg, well known German rabbies Walter Homolka, Eckart Klein, and historians such as Guido Knopp, György Konrád, Hans Maier, Christian Tomuschat and Alfred M. de Zayas.
Discussion about the location
On its official home page, the Centre points out that, "All victims of genocide and expulsion need a place in our hearts and in the historical memory. Human rights are indivisible."
Well-known intellectuals and politicians, including Germans Günter Grass and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, in 2003 expressed support for a centre devoted to all expelled during the 20th century, located in some place connected with expulsions, e.g. Wrocław (Breslau).
However, while Steinbach claims the Centre will represent the suffering of other nations as well, she believes that it is an internal German affair and rejects the proposal of creating the Centre under international control.
The Bavarian Prime Minister and chairman of CSU Edmund Stoiber argued that "the place for a museum showing the dreadful fate of expelled Germans is in the German capital".
Other criticism
This initiative, supported by the CDU/CSU fraction in the parliament, has caused controversy. Opponents of the proposed form of Centre object to emphasizing only German suffering. In the petition "For a critical and enlightened debate about the past" left-wing historians expressed concerns the centre would "establish and popularize a one-sided image of the past, without historical context".
Former German Foreign minister Joschka Fischer commented on Steinbach, and her initiative for a Centre Against Expulsions to ...have caused serious damage to German-Polish relations. Not amongst extremist nationalist forces that do exist in Poland, but amongst old friends and major agents for reconciliation between our two countries.
Critics in Poland oppose the idea of a permanent research centre in Berlin devoted to victims of expulsion, such as deported Germans, Jews, Poles, Greeks Armenians and Muslims. They claim this suggests a moral equivalence between victims that would make the responsibility issue less clear. German officials and other analysts conclude however that the main reason for the criticism is Polish domestic politics where anti-German sentiment is being exploited to further Polish nationalism and to help the troubled current Polish government win the coming elections. Under pressure from their government Polish institutions have demanded back items loaned to the "Forced Paths" exhibit. One of the exhibits is a bell from the Wilhelm Gustloff where close to 9000 civilians died, which had been used to decorate a Polish fish restaurant until the exhibit. [1]