20260510 Tag der Befreiung

10.05.2026 Tag der Befreiung

Whether “Liberation Day” is celebrated on May 8 or May 9 is not important; what matters is that we remember that millions of people had to die because a racial ideology had gained the upper hand in Germany, and any opposition to it ended in deportation to a concentration camp. This should make us wary today of political platforms that seek to isolate us from the rest of the world and view people from other countries as inferior.

It is also important that we thank the people who had to sacrifice their lives for our liberation. With over 27 million dead, these were primarily the peoples of the Soviet Union. That is another reason why we were once again at the memorial on Straße des 17. Juni on May 8.

We must not forget that this liberation came from outside

This statement was made by several German presidents on May 8, each in a different tone — most clearly in Richard von Weizsäcker’s 1985 speech. Yet as early as May 8, 1975, the incumbent Federal President Walter Scheel had stated: “Certainly, on May 8, 1945, the National Socialist regime finally collapsed. We were liberated from a terrible yoke — from war, murder, servitude, and barbarism... But we do not forget that this liberation came from outside, that we, the Germans, were not capable of shaking off this yoke ourselves.”

In the 30 years prior, the terms “liberation” and “gratitude” were scarcely mentioned in speeches. At that time, terms such as ‘extermination’ and “downfall” dominated official statements.

P.S. We were left with a bad taste in our mouths — just like last year — the unnecessary barriers around the memorial, which were equipped with additional prohibition signs (picture on the left). Last year, we also observed that the police enforced these prohibitions if one could not present a diplomatic passport.

Coincidentally, on our way back, at the March 18 Square near the Brandenburg Gate, we saw on a commemorative plaque marking the uprising of that time that the police had also regulated the commemoration of the victims back then (picture on the right).