German Politicians Confirm Greece Has Case for Wartime Reparations
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused Germany of trying to avoid paying reparations for Nazi crimes committed during World War II—and several German politicians agree.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. (Abode of Chaos / CC BY 2.0)
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused Germany of trying to avoid paying reparations for Nazi crimes committed during World War II—and several German politicians agree.
The Guardian reports:
Relations between Germany and Greece have deteriorated as Athens tries to renegotiate its bailout terms and Berlin fears it will ditch previously agreed financial promises.
The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who is due to meet Merkel in Berlin on Monday, has accused Germany of using tricks to avoid paying reparations. One of his ministers raised the prospect of seizing German property to compensate victims of a Nazi massacre.
… “We should make a financial approach to victims and their families,” said Gesine Schwan, a respected member of the Social Democrat party (SPD), who share power with Merkel’s conservatives.
“It would be good for us Germans to sweep up after ourselves in terms of our history,” she told Spiegel Online. “Victims and descendants have longer memories than perpetrators and descendants,” said Schwan, twice-nominated as a candidate for German president.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative New Democracy party triumphs, but far-right parties fail, bucking Europe's populist trend.
In a new book addressed to his daughter, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis explains capitalism well but fails to empathize with its victims.
Most of Sunday's snap general election results are in -- and it seems Syriza has claimed another important victory in Greece and Alexis Tspiras will continue to lead the country.
One day after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned and called for an early election to deal with a party rebellion over the country’s third bailout deal, Greece’s president has asked the country’s main opposition party to form a new government.
In the modern global banking system, all banks need a credit line with the central bank in order to be part of the payments system. Choking off that credit line was a form of blackmail the Greek government couldn’t refuse.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.