Marko Martin delivered a speech at the presidential residence at the Bellevue Palace on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the “peaceful revolution” in the GDR, which fell on November 9, which led to the fall of the communist government and the unification of Germany.
“If Steinmeier and other listeners were expecting a friendly look at the past and fair warnings about the future, which is typical at this point, they were sorely disappointed. In 15 minutes, Marko Martin did a fundamental review of 35 years of history. Steinmeier was angry,” we read in the report published in the online edition of “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”.
Marko Martin and the Solidarity proposal
The writer, who fled the GDR to the West in May 1989, began his speech by welcoming the Solidarity activists from Poland who took part in the ceremony, including Bogdan Borusewicz. “Without their courage, the events of 1989 would not have happened,” the writer said.
Marko Martin confirmed that in the fall of 1989, only a few East German citizens had decided to oppose the communist authorities. – Millions of citizens did not go out on the streets then, but stayed in their apartments behind curtains for further developments – he said. – To this day, veterans protest alone, and two pro-Putin parties (AfD and BSW – ed.) are having great success, he said.
He recalled the anti-Polish sentiments in the GDR after the founding of Solidarity in the 1980s. – Similar views occurred in West Germany as well – the speaker noted, recalling that in 1982 the influential SPD politician Egon Bahr called Solidarity a “threat to the peace of the world”.
Writer from Germany. Anti-Polish sentiments – in the east and the west
The contempt that was hidden under the guise of geopolitics and rhetoric, which was visible in Bahr’s opinion, continues, according to the writer, to this day. Marko Martin recalled the activities of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whom he called “a close friend of the mass murderer Putin”. He pointed out to Steinmeier that, as foreign minister in 2016, he called NATO’s moves in the eastern part of the Alliance “sabre-rattling” and “a distraction of war”. He criticized the president for pushing the Nord Stream project, which he said was a “bridge”, but actually encouraged Putin to attack.
According to “SZ”, Steinmeier was the only participant who did not recommend the speaker. After the speech, the president went to Martin and accused him of “criticizing politicians without understanding their achievements”. There was a “sharp polemic” – said the participants of the ceremony. In a statement for the DPA agency, Martin accused Steinmeier of refusing to discuss German joint responsibility for Putin’s attack.
2024-11-09 22:08:00
#Conflict #president #Germany #Poland #background #sharp #polemic
