“History must be a reminder”
Steinmeier reminds us of the White Rose in Munich
2/6/2023 6:24 p.m
80 years ago the members of the White Rose were executed. On the occasion of a commemoration event, Federal President Steinmeier also called for action for democracy. Opponents of the constitution should not be able to attack them again.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for the defense of democracy to be strengthened. In a commemorative lecture at the University of Munich on the 80th anniversary of the execution of members of the White Rose resistance group, he said that democracy in Germany had “come under increasing pressure in recent years.” In Germany, “opponents of the constitution should not be able to attack democracy at its core again.” Steinmeier expressed his concern that criticism of the existing conditions was sometimes becoming radicalized and articulated as resistance to the system itself.
“Contradiction is necessary in a democracy,” said the Federal President. “But there is no right to use force against democratically made majority decisions: anyone who claims a right to resist democratic institutions in our country today is abusing this term.” Sometimes “identitarian delusion or nationalistic frenzy” are at play here. In the Federal Republic, too, “right-wing populists and identitarian extremists are gaining ground,” said Steinmeier. “Hate and hate speech are also increasing in our country, especially online. And in our country, too, there are anti-constitutional right-wing extremist groups that want to overthrow the so-called ‘system’.”
“Our history must be a warning to us”
Steinmeier pointed out that the state has instruments to protect democracy – such as the possibility of banning parties and associations. “Our idea of a well-fortified democracy cannot and must not be exhausted by the state’s prohibitive instruments and the concerns of its citizens,” he said – and made an appeal: “A well-fortified democracy needs committed citizens who are morally clear in their political judgment and firm are those who stand up for our country, for democracy.” The occasion for Steinmeier’s lecture was the 80th anniversary of the execution of members of the White Rose – a resistance group that called for resistance against National Socialism at the University of Munich with leaflets. The group was betrayed, its members executed.
“Today, eighty years later, we commemorate these young people, their belief in truth and humanity, in freedom – and their indescribable courage to stand up for it,” said Steinmeier. “We remember, not just for the sake of looking back or to put the members of the White Rose on a heroic pedestal. They were undoubtedly heroes, but we also look back in the knowledge that responsibility for our history knows no line: our history must be a warning to us.”