Cashing in on old war wounds

One has to wonder about the mental stability of German politician Erika Steinbach, who has again been peddling “historical myths” to promote her campaigns

This time Steinbach says Poland had mobilized its troop’s months before the Nazis invaded in September 1939 – as if to suggest that Warsaw was responsible for triggering World War Two.

Nothing grabs a headline like distorting history for dramatic effect – but this time the hapless Steinbach lost her job. “I am beginning to get the impression that you can’t say what you want in Germany any more, even if one is talking about facts,” she bleated.

I would urge Ms Steinbach to read some history, before spouting her emotionally-charged twaddle – Thank God she does not represent the views of most Germans.

Keeping the war on the front pages – German politicians are calling on London to scrap plans to build a memorial to the RAF bomber crews. Germany’s biggest daily newspaper, Bild, is backing the plans as they say that the idea is offensive to the 25,000 victims of the raid in Dresden in 1945 – I agree.

I have written before that there are many issues that nag at our moral conscience like no others, the crimes committed on this night of February 13, 1945 does not seem to be one of them.

Sadly, British history is so heavily sanitised that we really don’t have to feel like we are natives of a country that has made too many blunders or committed any unspeakable war crimes.

The event, though largely forgotten, was one of the most shameful episodes in modern British history.

Unsurprisingly, those brave pilots in RAF planes faced very little resistance – as Dresden, like most other cities in Germany was beaten and stuffed to the brim of civilians living in the most appalling conditions.

Now, so many years after the event there is nothing that can be done to excuse the incident other than to acknowledge, as a mature nation, that the bombing of Dresden was an act of pure savagery and it should have never have happened in the first place.

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