Germany recognizes its responsibility for the crimes committed by the Nazis after their invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the four-year war against the Soviet Union
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2021) Germany recognizes its responsibility for the crimes committed by the Nazis after their invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the four-year war against the Soviet Union.
"In a few days, on June 22, we will mark the anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the then-Soviet Union. After World War II was unleashed with the German attack on Poland in 1939, Germany opened the next horrifying chapter two years later. For us, Germans, this day is a reason for shame," Merkel said in a video address.
The chancellor added that Germany would never forget its responsibility for those crimes.
"We owe this to millions of victims and their descendants. Our duty to work for peace and international rules-based order is born from this responsibility," Merkel said.
At dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union by attacking Brest, Kiev and other Soviet cities with the largest invasion force in the history of warfare. The Great Patriotic War lasted 1,418 days and ended on May 9, 1945, when Nazi Germany capitulated.
June 22 is observed annually in Russia and some other post-Soviet republics as Remembrance Day for the Great Patriotic War victims.
