Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 10:24:35 -0500 Reply-To: H-NET List on German History Sender: H-NET List on German History From: H-GERMAN EDITOR Dan Rogers Subject: May 8, 1945 - 50 years ago Submitted by: David Crawford I would like to toss into the commemoration discussion some comments by the Minister President of Brandenburg. Speaking on the 8th of May to a conference of historians from Germany, France, Russia and Poland, meeting in Potsdam, Mr. Stolpe warned that no historical comparison should be made between events in NAZI Germany (1933-1945) and events in Eastern Germany (1945-1990). Today's Maekische Oderzeitung (9 May 1995, p. 6) quotes Mr. Stolpe as saying, "Die Erinnerung daran wuerde ein gerechteres Licht auf manche DDR-Biographie werfen." The newspaper then paraphrases Mr. Stolpe: "Stolpe warnte vor der Gefahr, dass die Gleichsetzung beider Diktaturen zu einer neuen politischen Polarisierung der deutschen Gesellschaft beitragen koenne. "'Die Tendenz, dass die davon Betroffenen im Osten sich dieser Art der Aufarbeitung verweigern, ist deutlich', meinte Stolpe, nach dessen Worten sich durch die Einbeziehung der Deutschen in den West-Ost-Gegensatz nach 1945 in beiden Teilen Deutschlands ideologische Muster "entweder antifaschistischer oder antikommunistischer Doktrinen" zementiert haetten. Er stellte die Frage, wie lange es sich Deutschland - im Unterschied zu Italienern und Franzosen - leisten wolle, den kommunistischen Hitler- Gegnern die Anerkennung zu verweigern. Stolpe wandtete sich auch gegen eine neue Perspektive auf die Geschichte, die in den Ereignissen von 1989/1990 die fuer heute Massgebende geschichtliche Zaesur sieht. Die nach wie vor gueltige Lehre aus der Zeit von 1933 bis 1945 bestehe vielmehr darin, dass Deutschland nie mehr einen Sonderweg unter den europaeischen Nationen waehlen duerfe..." This discussion is very important in eastern Germany. The GDR was a country which found its justification in the belief that the continuation of Fascism would have been much worse than any injustice in East German society. In interviews with dozens of former officers and agents of the Ministerium fuer Staatssicherheit (MfS) the question as to their motivation for co-operating with the Stasi usually contains some element of 'wanting to fight Fascism'. Therefore it is important for many people in the East that the 8th of May should only be associated with the "release" (Befreiung) from the ultimate evil: Hitler Fascism. One last note: Mr. Stolpe frequently uses the term "DDR- Biographie", when referring to the discussion of his own collaboration with the MfS. (He generally refers to himself in the third person.) But in this case Mr. Stolpe is clearly rallying to the support other former East Germans whose biographies have been called into question. Mr. Stolpe's own primary defence of his activities as MfS agent 'IM Sekretaer' is too complicated to discuss in this forum, beyond two simple points: he admits to frequent meetings with members of the MfS, but says he did not know that the MfS had him registered as an agent. Furthermore Mr. Stolpe claims that in his talks with the MfS, his primary loyalty was to his church and to the people who sought his aid, although neither the Church nor the people, about whom he discussed, were informed about the content of his talks. .