13th of November 2014, Letter to the
German President Mr. Gauck
Kein Volkstrauer oder
Mitleid für die mörderische SS Toten in Holland
No remembrance or pity for the murderous SS dead in Holland
Dear Mr President,
On Sunday, the 16th of November 2014,
the German national remembrance day, a large event will take place at
a German military cemetery – not in Germany, but in Holland. Buried
there in Ysselsteyn are almost 32,000 Nazi soldiers, including about
2,500 SS-men. This is the second largest Nazi-cemetery in Europe, situated
in the town of Venray near Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
The organiser of this event, the Volksbund
Deutscher Kriegsgräberfürsorge, is planning a major but highly
questionable gathering and has ensured the attendance of the German
ambassador to Holland as host, the governor of the province of Limburg,
the mayor of the town of Venray, NATO-generals and other Dutch and NATO-officers
stationed at the Eindhoven air base and at the German-Dutch unit in
Münster, in Brunssum and other dignitaries.
The Volksbund is planning an afternoon
of shameless and willful deceit. The Volksbund is deliberately confusing
perpetrator and victim, trying to propagate the idea that most 'German'
soldiers were just 'victims' also. We will have none of it.
In documentation issued just weeks ago
(see attm.),
the Volksbund implies that the 'German' soldiers of WWII were just as
'brave' and 'deserve' just as much honour, remembrance and compassion
as the soldiers of WWI and the Allied liberators of WWII. The Volksbund
is now expressedly trying to blur the memory of the horrifying and murderous
crimes against humanity of the Nazis, the Wehrmacht and more particular
the SS.
The Dutch anti-fascist AFVN/BvA object
totally to this. They demand that if this must go on this year, that
this be the last honorific or rather horrific remembrance here ever.
This must be the last time in Europe that Nazis and especially SS-men
are granted such dignity. The SS-graves should be cleared as soon as
possible, so that Holland can have a peaceful year of remembering the
70st year of liberation in 2015 in a Nazi-free country.
In Ysselsteyn, the Volksbund tries to
combine the remembrance of the 87 morally innocent German WWI soldiers
buried there also, with that of the forever guilty perpetrators of the
limitless suffering - and the holocaust. The common German soldiers
of WWI carry not a gram of moral blame for their war. Their position
is forever uncomparable to that of the German and other nazi-soldiers
of WWII, and especially the SS-men. Honoring these dead also is an insult
to the 30,000 German and Austrian draft refusers and deserters that
were executed by the Nazis. And to the Dutch victims.
You, mr President, came to Holland on
the Dutch national liberation day on May 5, 2012, although I had advised
you not to, while a Dutch convicted SS-murderer was still living freely
in Germany. This concerned Klaas Carel Faber, who remained free till
his death, some weeks later. Now can you assure us that no German official
takes part in the event in Ysselsteyn? You were heavily criticised then
and still carry a debt of honour for coming to Holland in that year,
but now you can redeem yourself by calling back the ambassador or any
other German government official.
We are also asking prime-minister Rutte
of the Netherlands with the utmost emphasis to forbid his misguided
officials to take part in the service in Ysselsteyn, especially now
they have declared to be sure to take part, as they have, regardless
of the travesty of history being performed here and the pain that will
inflict on survivors of the atrocities of the WWII.
Once before, also in 2012, a local mayor
in Holland caused an uproar when he wanted to participate in a remembrance
of Nazi-soldiers in Vorden, in the town of Bronckhorst. Finally, he
declined. It was believed then, that other Dutch or German officials
would understand the message: 'Thou shalt not honour the Nazis'....
We shall demonstrate in Ysselsteyn on
the 16th and hope that this will be the last of the Nazi-remembrances
of European history. You know the song, mr President, that will be sung
there: 'Ich hatt' ein Kameraden...' - indeed, comrad, because you kept
on killing. But how will you be forgiven, comrad?
Sincerely Yours,
Arthur Graaff
spokesman of the Dutch AFVN/BvA Anti-fascist
League
editor-in-chief of a Dutch website on
WWII
son of a decorated WWII-resistance fighter
THIS MESSAGE WILL BE FORWARDED TO
- Nobel-prize laureate Günther Grass, a former SS-man
- Prime minister Mark Rutte of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- the usual institutions and the Dutch and German press.
PLEASE SEE: 'Volkstrauertag 2014' by the Volksbund etc, Oct 2014, esp.
the 'Gleitwort' and p15, right column by Klaus von Dohnanyi (attached)
Duitse
ambassadeur gaat SS'ers in Venray herdenken
Protesteer
tegen herdenking van 2.500 SS-graven 16 nov 2014 in Venray-Ysselsteyn
