In general,
our Western allies also did not distinguish
themselves at that time for their humanity. I still
do not understand why
Dresden
had to be so completely
destroyed From
the President of
Russia official
web portal
May 7, 2005 Joint Interview
with Federal Chancellor of Germany Gerhard
Schroeder for Bild Newspaper QUESTION: Mr President, Mr
Chancellor, World War II ended sixty years ago.
Your fathers both fought in this war, one for
Hitler's Germany, the other in Stalin's army. Mr
Chancellor, your father was killed, and your
father, Mr President, was seriously wounded. What
do you feel on a personal level, a human level,
when you think back to those dark days today, as
representatives of once-hostile nations?
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: First of all, I cannot
agree with equating Stalin with
Hitler. Yes, Stalin was certainly a tyrant
and many call him a
criminal, but he was not a Nazi. It was not
the Soviet forces who crossed the German border on
June 22, 1941, but the contrary. That is the first
thing we should not forget. Personally, I have never seen the Germans as a
hostile nation. I think in general that Russians of
my generation, people who did not live through the
war themselves, have a different perception of
Germany than that of our fathers and grandfathers.
Of course, our generation is also a part of this
past. I felt this very acutely, for example, when I
first learned that the Federal Chancellor's father
was killed on the Eastern Front. I felt this on a
very emotional level and it was then that I
realised that these tragic events are really not so
far removed from us. This is why we must do
everything we can to ensure that nothing of this
sort ever happens again in the history of our
peoples, the history of Europe and the history of
the entire world. FEDERAL CHANCELLOR GERHARD SCHROEDER: It is
still a miracle to me that former sworn enemies and
opponents in war are today friends and partners who
live together as good neighbours. The generation of
my fathers and grandfathers could surely not have
imagined such a thing. I was only one year old when
the war ended and so I don't have any personal
memories and impressions of that time. I learned
about the horrors of World War II, the atrocities
committed in the concentration camps and the Nazis'
crimes only later in school, from books and from
the stories of people who witnessed those
events. Germany provoked and started one of the most
terrible wars in the history of humanity. Even if
our generation is not personally to blame for this
we nonetheless still bear responsibility for every
period of our history. As we understand it, this
means that our primary task is to build a peaceful
future for our country as part of a united Europe.
I see the opportunity to take part in this
construction as both a challenge and a duty. The
memory of the war and of national socialism has
become a part of our national identity. Preserving
this memory is our moral duty, a duty that we will
always have. This is why we, the representatives of
democratic Germany, will never give injustice and
violence, racism and xenophobia a chance to take
root again. QUESTION: Mr President, your brother died during
the siege of Leningrad. Did you hate the Germans
for this? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I know that this caused my
parents much suffering and they never forgot it,
but there was never hatred towards the Germans in
my family for this, strange as it may sound. My
parents always said that it was not the people who
were guilty, not the ordinary soldiers sent to war
by the regime in power. It is not the people who
carry the blame, but the ideology, in this terrible
case, the ideology of national socialism. My mother told me a story about my grandfather,
who fought during the First World War. Troops on
the opposing sides took up positions in trenches
within sight of each other. Austrian soldiers had
taken up position on the other side of the section
where my grandfather was. My grandfather shot one
of the Austrians and badly wounded him. The
Austrian was lying there in a pool of his own blood
and no one was making any moves to come and help
him. My Grandfather then climbed up out of the
trench, went over to him and bandaged his wound.
They embraced each other before parting. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, the war took your
father from you before you were even able to see
him. Did this loss affect your political outlook in
any way? GERHARD SCHROEDER: No. I learned of my father's
fate just a few years ago and then only by chance.
But it was one of the most emotional and
unforgettable moments of my life when I stood at
his grave in Romania. To be honest, the poverty we
grew up in had more of an impact on my political
outlook. My mother had to bring me up, along with
her other children, in the very difficult
conditions of the post-war years. The experience of
those times had a direct impact on my political
views. The ideas of equality of opportunities and
justice, prosperity for all and solidarity have had
special significance for me ever since those days.
I believe, for example, that all young people
should have the chance to receive a school and
professional education that will enable them to
realise their talents and abilities. The social
background they come from and what their parents
earn should not be the deciding factors in this.
Only the talents and abilities of each individual
should count; only they should decide prospects for
education and a future career. QUESTION: What did your parents tell you about
their personal experience during World War II? How
did your family greet the end of the war? VLADIMIR PUTIN: My parents were reluctant to
talk about those years. They were very difficult
memories for them. They usually talked about the
war only when friends and acquaintances came to our
home. I was born in 1952. My parents never told me
about how they met the end of the war, about May 8
and May 9 1945. For them at that time it marked the
end of an unimaginably difficult period in their
lives. My father was wounded and was in hospital in
Leningrad when the city was still besieged by the
Nazi forces. At one point he came home to look for
my mother and arrived right at the moment when the
so-called "burial teams" were about to put her with
the corpses and take her to the cemetery. But she
was still alive and my father had to pull her out
from under this mountain of corpses. She survived
only because he gave her the rations that he was
entitled to as someone who was wounded and
recovering in hospital. GERHARD SCHROEDER: I was born in 1944, so I
don't have any memories of the last year of the
war. I think the situation in our family was
similar to that of many other families: during the
first years after the war people did not talk much
about what happened before 1945. In our family, in
any case, it was rare to hear about what happened
during those years. My father was killed in the
war, after all, and my mother was totally occupied
with getting enough food for her children. She
worked long and hard and was busy sorting out
day-to-day problems. She simply did not have time
for telling us stories and recalling the past. As
the oldest son, I had to start working myself and
help my mother from quite a young age. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, you were born in 1944.
What image did you have of Russia as a young
man? GERHARD SCHROEDER: What I learned about Russia
at school was enough only to provide a partial
picture of this country. But there was always
something that struck me about Russia. The size of
this huge country that stretched all the way across
two continents, from Europe to the very edge of
Asia, always made an impression on me. For me,
Russia was a great political power whose wise
rulers and tsars had helped to decide European
history. Then it was a country ruled by the
communist party, that declared it was putting into
practice the ideas of Marx and Engels. In the
1950s, of course, there was the image of Russia as
an enemy, and there was an anti-communist sentiment
that had a strong influence on the political
climate in Germany. I have learned a lot since then
about Russia, its history, culture, contribution to
European culture, the patriotism and deep religious
feelings of its people. What has become deeply
rooted in my consciousness is the image of a vast
country with a great diversity of peoples and
languages and immense natural resources. The
question always arises of its own accord: how do
you manage such a huge country and preserve its
integrity? I wouldn't envy anyone who has to
resolve such a mammoth undertaking. That is why I
feel such respect for President Putin. QUESTION: Did the Russians arrive in Germany as
liberators? VLADIMIR PUTIN: That the Soviet troops liberated
Germany from national socialism is a historical
fact. Of course, German civilians suffered during
the war, but that is not the fault of the Soviet
Union or the Red Army. It was not the Soviet Union
that began this war. In general, our Western allies
also did not distinguish themselves at that time
for their humanity. I still do not understand why
Dresden had to be so completely
destroyed. There was absolutely no need to do this
from a military point of view. Both Soviet troops
and the Western allied troops remained in Germany
as an occupying force after the war. Still - and
the German people know that -- now all Soviet
troops have long since been withdrawn from the
country. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Russia, together with the
allied forces, liberated Germany and Europe from
Nazi tyranny. The Russian people paid a huge price
for this, paid in its own blood. In no other
country in Europe are as many Russian soldiers
buried as in Germany. But when we remember May 8
and 9, we should also not forget that for many
people in Germany and in other countries, the end
of the war brought not just liberation but also
marked the beginning of exile, the sad lot of
refugees and a new loss of freedom. QUESTION: Mr President, Mr Chancellor, after all
the suffering they went through, how did our
peoples manage to overcome this mutual hatred? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Even during the most difficult
moments in the war the Soviet leadership called on
the people not to identify all Germans with the
Nazis: "Hitlers will come and go but the German
people remains". This was not just propaganda. This
was the conviction shared by the overwhelming
majority of Soviet citizens. My parents also shared
with me precisely this view. The German people became, in many ways, a victim
of the political irresponsibility of the leadership
of that time. The people were poisoned with Nazi
ideology and pulled into a bloody massacre. This
irresponsible military adventure became a personal
tragedy for millions of ordinary Germans. But you are right: it was not at all easy to
overcome the hatred and harshness that emerged as a
result of the Nazi aggression and took root in the
occupied territories. It required time and
considerable effort by politicians and millions of
people in Germany and in our country to return the
feelings of respect and mutual liking that have
existed between our peoples for centuries. I have every ground for saying that the Soviet
people, despite all they went through, were able to
forgive. This really was a reconciliation in
people's souls. While in some other countries, as
you know well, many people have still not reached
this point of reconciliation. GERHARD SCHROEDER: When the Second World War
ended, one thing was clear to both Russians and
Germans and that was that a new war and new
violence should never happen again. Many people, in
difficult conditions, helped to bring about
rapprochement and reconciliation between Russia and
Germany after 1945. Willy Brandt's policy of
detente and search for a balance of interests with
the Soviet Union were infused with the spirit of
reconciliation. This helped build up trust that the
differences between the two systems did not
obstruct. The seeds sown by Willy Brandt and many
others began to blossom. Confrontation and the Cold
War increasingly gave way to cooperation and
dialogue, and this all ultimately led to the
changes of 1989-1990. But, given the horrors of the
war, the reconciliation between Russia and Germany
remains a political miracle. QUESTION: Mr President, have you personally
forgiven the Germans? VLADIMIR PUTIN: As I said, for me personally, as
for most people of my age, this question sounds a
little odd and does not have the emotional charge
that it carries for the older generation. I did not
personally live through the horrors of war, after
all. Our peoples, Russians and Germans, have lived
through many dramatic events in our history. I am
sure that we have become wiser and have learned to
value human life, freedom and good relations with
our neighbours more highly. The historic
reconciliation between Germans and Russians is an
objective fact. QUESTION: Mr President, what does Stalin mean to
you? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Stalin and his era are an
integral part of my country's complicated and
sometimes contradictory history. We need to know
this history and remember its lessons. One of these
lessons is clear: dictatorship and repression of
freedom is a dead-end road for the state, for
society. Uncontrolled personal power inevitably
creates a free hand for committing crimes. There
were enough crimes committed during the Stalin
years -- political repression, the deportation of
entire peoples. This calls for the principled
attitude. QUESTION: Who are the heroes of World War II for
you? VLADIMIR PUTIN: The real heroes of World War II
for me are everyone who fought against the Nazi
regime. The soldiers of the Red Army, the allied
soldiers, the prisoners of war and inmates of the
concentration camps, the people who toiled without
rest in the rear -- they are all heroes. So, of
course, are the anti-fascists, the Germans of
various political convictions who fought against
Hitler's tyranny. They are true German patriots,
they fought against Hitler's regime and for the
honour of the German people. GERHARD SCHROEDER: I must admit that it is hard
for me to talk about heroes in this war that killed
so many millions and brought so much destruction,
poverty and suffering. Of course, there were many
courageous soldiers and there were brilliant
strategists among the officers and commanders. But
as I see it, the defining moment in heroism is an
individual's behaviour, a clear moral stand. Those
who showed their humanity in the face of war and
national-socialist terror were brave and heroic,
those who hid Jews, who saved the lives of others
and who showed courage as individuals in the midst
of an inhuman system and respected the human
dignity of others. Berlin district head
Krutzfeld, for example, or Pastor
Polchow. The first of them, giving a liberal
interpretation to orders, opposed the hordes of SS
men during the Kristallnacht pogroms in 1938.
Attempts were made later to make him answer for
this but nothing happened to him in the end. The
second used all sorts of ruses to save many people
from the Gestapo's persecution. People such as they
did not, perhaps, perform great feats, but they
showed us that it is possible to remain human even
in a dictatorship. I admire these "everyday
heroes'. QUESTION: Mr President, you got to know Germany
after World War II on the eastern side of the "Iron
Curtain". What influence did this encounter with
the Germans have on you? VLADIMIR PUTIN: All my encounters were with
sincere, decent and reliable people. If any of them
made mistakes in any way, they were sincere
mistakes. What was amazing for me politically was that
society and the state organisation were as if
frozen in the 1950s-60s. Even for me, who had come
from the Soviet Union, it was clear that such a
system was not viable. But there were some things that bound me to
Germany on a human, emotional level. My daughter
was born there and her place of birth in all her
documents is given as Dresden. QUESTION: Was the division of Germany a just
punishment for unleashing World War II? VLADIMIR PUTIN: The division of Germany into
occupied zones was above all the result of
Germany's military defeat. The allies sought at
that time to free Germany from the burden of
Nazism, restore civilian life and elect a
democratic government within as short as possible a
period of time. I want to remind you that at all
the conferences among the allies, including at
Yalta and Potsdam, the Soviet leadership followed a
consistent line in favour of preserving Germany's
integrity and unity. But some of our allies,
unfortunately, took quite the opposite line. The subsequent division of Germany into two
separate states took place along the lines of
military, political and ideological confrontation
of interests at the height of the Cold War. Of
course, this was a great tragedy for the German
people, but we cannot call it Germany's punishment
for starting the Second World War. It is characteristic that once the confrontation
between the superpowers, the Soviet Union and the
United States, came to an end, the ground was
swiftly laid for peaceful reunification of Germany.
The positive role played by our country in this
process is well known. GERHARD SCHROEDER: The division of Germany
during the Cold War years is, ultimately, the
result of Hitler's criminal policies and to call it
a just punishment in this case would not be
right. QUESTION: You have close and friendly relations.
Do you still touch upon the bitter experience of
World War II during your conversations? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Of course. This, after all, is
the greatest tragedy not only of the twentieth
century but of all world history, and our peoples
were at its centre. It is our duty to know and
remember the lessons of the war. You are right in saying that Gerhard Schroeder
and I do have a real friendship. I think it is well
known that we think alike on many issues. We see it
as our common duty to help overcome the negative
past in Russian-German relations and to heal the
wounds caused by the war. We both believe that the lessons of those years
should help the international community to unite
against the global threats of the twenty-first
century and strengthen stability and security in
Europe and the world. We also understand well how
important it is to join forces in order to combat
the activities of extremist organisations that feed
on the ideology of national and racial intolerance
and that seek to justify the crimes of the Nazis
and of their collaborationist stooges. The ideology of such organisations is in many
ways similar to the inhuman ideology of terrorists
who reject the values of democracy, human life
itself, civil rights and liberties, and use
primitive nationalism and xenophobia in their
propaganda. This is why we consider the development of
international humanitarian cooperation to be one of
our biggest priorities. Learning about the culture
and human legacy of other countries and peoples,
joint projects in education and science and youth
exchanges are all ways of bringing people closer
together, helping us to understand each other
better and enriching us spiritually. Overall, Russian-German relations definitely
have an agenda addressed to the future and are not
just pragmatic but, above all, are constructive in
nature. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Of course, we talk about all
aspects of relations between our two countries,
including the black pages. Only those who really
know history can avoid repeating the mistakes of
the past. There can be no place for all that has
brought such immeasurable suffering to millions of
people -- totalitarian ideology, nationalism, the
thirst for domination and the subjugation by one
people of its neighbours. The creation of the
European Union is one answer to these mistakes of
the past. A strategic partnership with Russia is a
second answer, and there can be no alternative
either to the one or to the other. QUESTION: Mr President, how do you explain your
political sympathy for Mr Schroeder? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I am impressed by the German
Chancellor's personal and political qualities. He
is open, knows how to listen to different points of
view, can accept criticism, is pragmatic and true
to his word. I think that Mr Schroeder's constant
focus on obtaining concrete results is of immense
importance. I think that, as a politician, Mr Schroeder
knows how to stand up consistently and effectively
for Germany's national interests and is decisively
pursuing much-needed reforms within his country and
building up its authority and influence on the
international stage. His political courage lies in the fact that he
always places the public interest above his own
personal interests. He is a man of principle and consistent
thinking. GERHARD SCHROEDER: My political sympathies are
based on a commonality of aims and convictions. We
want a lasting peaceful order for Europe that will
bring prosperity to the greatest possible number of
people. Our strategic partnership gives us the
chance to build our future in a peaceful Europe,
based on our common interests and values. It will
also enable us to find common solutions and
responses to the opportunities and the threats of
globalisation. This is why we have decided to
double the number of German-Russian youth exchanges
by 2007. In Hannover, recently, we reached an
agreement on strategic partnership in education,
research and advanced technology. This will all
bring our societies closer together. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, what kind of person is
the Russian President? GERHARD SCHROEDER: He is open and reliable. Even
when we, as representatives of our countries, have
to defend different interests, I still feel
friendship for him. QUESTION: How important is your personal
friendship for the partnership between Russia and
Germany? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I am sure that our good and
trusting personal relations are a considerable help
in developing the strategic partnership between our
countries. This is a partnership based on equal
cooperation, respect for each other's interests and
sincere friendship between our peoples. In international politics, during negotiations
and consultations, it is very important to know
your partners, to be able to trust them and
understand all the nuances of their views. These
are the kind of relations I have with the Federal
Chancellor and we both highly value these
relations. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Above all, we represent the
interests of our countries, as corresponds to the
wishes of our voters. Our friendship is in no way
an obstacle to this. On the contrary, the relations
of trust that we have facilitate cooperation on a
number of issues that would otherwise be harder to
resolve. QUESTION: Mr President, what memories do you
have of your first visit to Germany? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Germany is one of the centres of
European civilisation and has a great historic and
cultural heritage. I discovered Germany for myself twice, as it
were. The first time was, as I said before, when I
worked in the GDR from 1985 through to 1990. That
time gave me one image of Germany. The second
"discovery" was when I was working as deputy mayor
of St Petersburg and was chairman of the committee
for foreign economic ties. That period gave me the
chance to gain a deeper knowledge of Germany's
culture, history and politics, and to get to know
the Germans themselves better. QUESTION: Mr President, what did you feel when
the Russians left Germany in 1994? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I understood that it marked the
end of an entire era -- the era of confrontation in
Europe. Certainly, many issues regarding the
withdrawal of our troops and their relocation on
Russian territory could have been resolved in a
better-planned and more constructive manner. But at
the same time I am proud that it was our country,
the choice of our people that did a lot to help end
the Cold War and bring down the Berlin Wall. In keeping with the logic of Russia's policy, I
think that now that Germany has drawn the right
conclusions from the horrors of World War II, has
gone through remorse and put in place the
mechanisms that would prevent a repeat of the
tragedy of the past, we cannot expect today's and
future generations of Germans to forever shower
themselves in ashes and go around flagellating
themselves. Germany should not feel as though it
has fewer rights than other countries on the
international stage. Russia, therefore, will
support a greater role for Germany in the United
Nations, including as permanent member of the UN
Security Council. QUESTION: Were relations between Russia and
Germany ever as close as they are today? VLADIMIR PUTIN: There were quite a number of
periods of very close and fruitful cooperation
between our countries. It is enough to recall, for
example, the nineteenth century when we were direct
military allies. Further back, there was also the
time of Catherine the Great, who was of German
origin. She was one of the strongest and most
effective rulers Russia has had. At the same time, I share Gerhard Schroeder's
view that Russia and Germany have never been as
close as they are now. Most important is that our
countries are no longer divided by ideological
barriers and political contradictions. We work
together as partners on the most important issues
in world politics and we cooperate closely in the
European and international organisations. The
Russian-German partnership really is a positive and
significant factor in European and international
life. I am sure, too, that Russia and Germany will
play a decisive part in finally uniting Europe and
bringing concrete substance to the idea of building
the four common spaces between Russia and the
European Union. But there is still a lot of work to do. We have
not fully developed our potential for cooperation
in many areas. This concerns, in particular,
business and the humanitarian sphere. Germany is
only in fourth place for the amount of direct
investment in the Russian economy. This corresponds
neither to its possibilities nor to our demands. We
are also not happy with the imbalance in our trade,
which for the moment consists primarily of an
exchange of raw materials from Russia for finished
products from Germany. We could also do a lot more to develop our
humanitarian cooperation, encourage direct contacts
between the institutions of our civil society and
promote scientific, cultural, educational and youth
exchanges. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Relations between Germany and
Russia, whether in politics, the economy or
culture, really have never been as close as they
are today. Trade between our countries increased by
18 percent over the last year alone. Vladimir Putin
is right in saying that we have not yet made full
use of our potential. Russia is a very important
partner for us in the energy sector, but we also
need to develop our cooperation in areas besides
oil and gas. The Russian market offers our
businesspeople huge opportunities for trade and
investment, in advanced technology, for example.
Our cultural relations have also never been as
close as they are now. The Russian and German
cultural seasons in both countries in 2003-2004
were a huge success. Now we should build on this
success in the future. QUESTION: Mr President, what do Russians think
of Germany today? VLADIMIR PUTIN: First of all, I want to say that
our people feel great respect for Germany. Germany,
for us, is a successful country with increasing
political and economic weight, one of the driving
forces of European integration. It is a country
firmly committed to developing relations as equals
with Russia. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, how do you think
Germans see Russia? GERHARD SCHROEDER: The majority of Germans have
very friendly feelings towards Russia and the
Russian people. The Cold War years are now a thing
of the past. People are forming a more realistic
picture of Russia today, defined in many ways by
Russia's great culture and history and its immense
economic potential. Many Germans feel great
admiration for the Russian people's determination
to shape their own destiny. The fact
that Russia, as a country with no real democratic
traditions of its own, decided of its own accord to
follow a democratic path, cannot but inspire
respect among us. QUESTION: What unites Russians and Germans, and
what still divides them? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Much unites us -- pages in our
history, the fact that we are both a part of
European culture and traditions, our geographical
closeness, common objectives on the international
stage and the mutually complementary nature of our
economies. Our common objectives include fighting
terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking,
poverty and disease. Ultimately, we are all Europeans. Both Russians
and Germans want to live in a united and democratic
Europe that is open for broad-based dialogue and
cooperation. The aim of our work together with
Germany and between Russia and the EU is to ensure
the best possible conditions for peoples to realise
their mutual desire to work together and establish
direct contacts with each other. Yes, of course, some stereotypes and complexes
associated with the past still persist. But I am
sure that life itself will put everything in its
place. We politicians, meanwhile, must do all we
can to remove the barriers in relations between
countries and in people's minds. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Sixty years after the end of
the war and 15 years after the political
transformations of 1989, nothing should divide
Russians and Germans. Of course, there are
historical and cultural differences and cliches and
prejudices still exist. We should not exaggerate
them, however. What is much more important is that
Germans and Russians want to build their future
together as Europeans and friends. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, do the immense losses
suffered by Russia during World War II place
particular obligations upon we Germans? GERHARD SCHROEDER: No other people paid as heavy
a toll in the criminal war unleashed by Nazi
Germany as the Russian people. More than 20 million
Russians lost their lives during World War II. We
Germans must never forget this. This is why the
German people has a particular responsibility to
support Russia on its road to modernisation and to
help Russia become a part of European and
democratic institutions. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, should we be grateful
to the Russians for May 8, 1945? GERHARD SCHROEDER: For all of Europe, May 8-9,
1945, symbolises liberation from Nazi barbarism.
Without the Russian people's spirit of
self-sacrifice, the Second World War could have had
a different outcome, and not just for Germany. As
we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the
war, we all have reason to remember those who gave
their lives in the fight against national
socialism, in Russia and in many other countries.
They are also the fathers and mothers of the new,
peaceful Europe that we are building today. QUESTION: Mr President, what does May 8 mean for
Russians? VLADIMIR PUTIN: The German surrender was signed
at 1 a.m. on May 9, Moscow time, and so it is on
May 9 that Russia celebrates Victory Day. For us,
this is a holiday of national unity and national
pride, and it is also a day when we remember those
who lost their lives. Generations come and go and
the years pass, but this day remains sacred for
every Russian. It cannot be otherwise in a country
that lost almost 30 million people and a third of
its national wealth in the Second World War and
made the main contribution to the victory against
Nazism. QUESTION: How important is the friendship
between Russia and Germany for maintaining
peace? VLADIMIR PUTIN: One of the most important
lessons of history is that relations between Russia
and Germany are of vital importance to the
situation in Europe. The mood in Europe as a whole
depends a lot on the level and content of this
friendship. All the peoples of Europe have
benefited from the friendship and constructive
cooperation between our countries. Rivalry and
confrontation, on the contrary, have only ever
weakened our countries and pulled Europeans into
mutual enmity and destructive wars. Russia and Germany must work closely together in
the interests of peace and prosperity. In a
situation of globalisation, regional stability is
intrinsically linked to overall international
security, so Russia and Germany both have an
increasingly important part to play as influential
nations with a broad spectrum of general and
specific interests. GERHARD SCHROEDER: We can do a lot together for
peace and stability: prevent the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, fight international
terrorism and organised crime, promote policies to
prevent climate change, help stabilise the
situation in the Middle East and strengthen the
United Nations. We are united on all these issues.
I would go even further and say that we are
strategic partners. QUESTION: Mr President, Mr Chancellor, sixty
years after the end of the devastating Second World
War, what do you see as the greatest threat to the
world today? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I am sure that Gerhard
Schroeder and I will have the same answer to
this question. The greatest threats to peace and
security in the world today are international
terrorism, aggressive separatism, nationalism and
religious extremism. The potential for
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
cross-border crime, drug trafficking, poverty and
clear imbalances in the international division of
labour that condemn entire continents to
backwardness are all serious threats. The
international community can deal with these
challenges only by working together. GERHARD SCHROEDER: Sixty years after the end of
World War II, we need not fear a large-scale war in
Europe. At the same time, we sense all the more
acutely today the threats posed by international
terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and also the poverty and religious
fanaticism that arise from a lack of economic
prospects in some parts of the world. These are the
challenges of the twenty-first century and we can
face them only by standing together with our
partners. QUESTION: Mr President, Mr Chancellor, can you
understand other friendly nations if they feel left
aside by these close relations between Russia and
Germany, or if these relations cause their
concerns? VLADIMIR PUTIN: We are not developing our
cooperation at the expense of any other countries.
It is not in our principles to divide our partners
into categories and have first, second and
third-class partners. I would go as far as to say
that the more effective and substantial the
partnership between Russia and Germany, the more
favourable a climate we will have in Europe in
general, and the more active will be European
business and cultural life. In this sense, we could see the broad-based
dialogue between Russia and Germany as a sort of
catalyst for integration in Europe overall. In this
context I think it is an interesting initiative to
organise a multilateral partnership between the
European Union and the integration organisations in
the CIS area. GERHARD SCHROEDER: The friendship between
Germany and Russia should not give anyone cause for
concern. It is not directed against anyone. Germany
today, like its east European neighbours, is
solidly integrated into the EU and trans-Atlantic
organisations. Germany is therefore building up
better relations now with Poland and with the
Baltic countries than ever before. This is the main
difference with earlier periods of European
history. A partnership between Germany and Russia
at the expense of other countries is no longer
possible. Our friends and partners in Europe
realise this. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, you took part in the
celebrations marking the sixtieth anniversary of
the allied landing in Normandy. Now you will be
present at the celebrations in Moscow. Your
participation in both of these events has caused a
certain amount of debate. What signal is your
participation intending to send? GERHARD SCHROEDER: President Putin's invitation
to take part in the celebrations is a great honour
for me and a sign of trust in the German people,
and the same was true for my participation in the
events marking the sixtieth anniversaries of the
allied landing in Normandy and the Warsaw uprising.
My participation in the events in Moscow should
signal that Russian-German reconciliation has
reached a new quality. We do not have the right to
forget the past and forget the sufferings that were
caused by Germans but that were felt on both sides.
We must preserve this memory and ensure that it
never happens again. I would like for Russians and
Germans to find friends in each other so that the
horrors of World War II never repeat themselves. I
see this as a historic objective. QUESTION: Mr Chancellor, can our country really
rest assured today that there can be no repeating
the mistakes of the past that led to the Nazi
dictatorship and the catastrophe that followed? GERHARD SCHROEDER: The political, economic and
social framework of the Weimar Republic and the
Federal Republic of Germany are completely
different. We are fortunate in not having to combat
today the same problems that ultimately helped
bring the Nazis to power back then: a fragile
democratic awareness among the public, divisions
within the political parties, a persistent economic
crisis accompanied by mass poverty and the
consequences of World War I. Germany today is a
stable social democracy that can stand up for
itself and is fully integrated in the EU and NATO.
This is the main difference with the Weimar
period. QUESTION: Some among the young generation do not
want to examine history and are content to simply
shout out old slogans. What would you say to such
people? GERHARD SCHROEDER: The period from 1933 to 1945
was the most inglorious page in German history. We
should do everything we can to ensure that those
terrible mistakes never find an incarnation in our
country again. QUESTION: What can Russians and Germans do to
ensure the world never again knows war? VLADIMIR PUTIN: On a bilateral level we should,
of course, continue to develop our cooperation in
all areas, promote contacts and dialogue between
civil society, encourage youth exchanges and follow
the principles of reconciliation and historical
truth. On the international stage, what is most
important is our contribution to helping build our
common European home -- construction based on a new
quality of relations between Russia and the EU and
NATO in a common space of security and
cooperation. GERHARD SCHROEDER: We need to make every effort
to fight the real causes of war and instability. We
will be successful in this only if we work together
with our friends and partners in the EU, NATO, the
G8 and the UN. QUESTION: The end of World War II provided much
inspiration for writers and filmmakers. Which book
or film about the war made the biggest impression
on you? VLADIMIR PUTIN: There are many films, books,
poems and songs about the war. I can name Russian
writers such as Boris Vasilyev, Konstantin
Simonov and Viktor Rozov. Among films, I
would name "The Cranes are Flying" and "Ballad of a
Soldier". There are no big battle scenes in these
films, no wallowing in violence and blood. They are
films about the spirit of our people, the harsh
truth of war and how it crushes human
destinies. GERHARD SCHROEDER: I don't know if we can say
that writers and filmmakers were inspired precisely
by World War II. After the catastrophe our
continent suffered, after the complete political
and moral collapse of Germany, it was only natural
that writers and filmmakers, artists and those in
theatre should seek to take this bitter experience
and reflect it and treat it in their work. All the
great German authors -- Gunter Grass, Heinrich
Böll and Siegfried Lentz -- dealt
with the national-socialist period and the war in
their works. I was particularly impressed by the
play "On the Street before the Door" by Wolfgang
Borchert. This is an impressive and at once
very touching story about the loneliness and
confusion of a soldier who returns home after
having been a prisoner of war. It is about his
fears and the wounds that remain in his mind and
soul, and about how he feels like a stranger in
what was his home. Of the many films about the war,
I particularly remember "The Murderers Among Us"
and, of course, "The Bridge" by Bernhard Wicki. QUESTION: Mr President, what is your greatest
wish for Russian-German relations in the
future? VLADIMIR PUTIN: My greatest wish is for them to
develop successfully in all areas. Let our
relations be enriched through the participation of
more and more new organisations, companies and
through the initiatives of our citizens. For my
part, I want to say that Mr Schroeder and I are
ready to do all we can to help achieve this noble
objective. QUESTION: And you, Mr Chancellor? GERHARD SCHROEDER: Today, sixty years after the
end of World War II, the time has come for a
genuine strategic partnership with Russia. Only in
this way can we achieve the great objective of
creating an enduring and just world order that will
bring all the peoples of Europe security, stability
and prosperity. Vladimir Putin and I want to
continue making every effort to help reach this
goal. -
Free download: David
Irving, "Apocalypse 1945: the Destruction of
Dresden"
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