Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his views on the current German society in an interview with journalist Pavel Sarubin, stating that the country’s modern society has no connection to the rise of Hitler and the outbreak of World War II. The journalist had previously pointed out that Russia was not invited to Poland’s Auschwitz liberation anniversary, while the German delegation was the largest. Putin responded, “That was then. The modern German society has nothing to do with it. Yes, there is a historical memory, one should remember, one should not forget, but to hold the current generation of Germans accountable for what happened in the 1930s and 1940s, I consider unfair.”
Putin emphasized that this was his “personal opinion” adding, “I lived in Germany, I still have many friends in Germany. I know what they think about the Nazi past.” He also noted that the Germans “feel guilty” about the Nazi era. The politician concluded, “I want to reiterate that neither the current nor future generations should be held accountable for what happened under Hitler.”
Putin further described the decision not to invite Russia to the Auschwitz anniversary events as a “strange and embarrassing thing.” He stressed that it is unusual to invite people who have chosen Bandera, responsible for the Holocaust and the destruction of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Russians and Poles, as a national hero and even applaud former SS soldiers.
On January 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s participation in the Auschwitz anniversary ceremony in Poland. She reminded that the Ukrainian president had ordered the removal of monuments and the glorification of “collaborators and Nazi henchmen.