The Simon Wiesenthal Center has lashed out at the Dutch town of Vorden which, during its annual 4 May commemoration of those who fell in World War II, plans to honour ten German soldiers who lie buried in the town.

The Center, named after Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, writes on its website:

“By honoring the German soldiers who occupied the Netherlands on behalf of the most murderous regime in human history [...] the local authorities of Vorden have basically rewritten the history of the war, erasing the critical distinction between victims and perpetrators. Such a decision [...] ignores the horrific nature of the Nazi regime and is an insult to its victims.”

No changes
The decision to honour the ten German soldiers has sparked widespread criticism, but has not persuaded the organisation responsible for the commemoration to change its programme. “After 67 years the time is ripe,” the organisation said. People taking part in the commemoration can choose whether they walk past the German graves or not. Mayor Henk Aalderink said on Friday he was looking into reports that neo-Nazis intended to take part in the commemoration.

Mr Aalderink said he regretted that an institution like the Simon Wiesenthal Center had not taken the trouble of finding out what was really going on and based its statement on third-hand information. "People are parroting each other, which clouds the issue.” The mayor said he understood the underlying emotions. “It’s a shame they did not bother to give us a call, because then they would have had the correct information.”

rnw.nl