Original Title: Germany Will Build a Monument for Polish Victims of World War II and Return Seized Cultural Relics

German public opinion holds that Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato's erroneous remarks reflect a serious historical cognitive bias.

The German government recently announced that it will build a new monument in Berlin to commemorate the Polish victims of Nazi Germany's tyranny during World War II, and return a batch of precious cultural relics seized during the war. Recently, German Chancellor Merkel said after meeting with Polish Prime Minister Tusk that Germany will remember the harm caused by Nazi Germany to Poland, take on historical responsibility, and emphasized, "Remembering history and facing the past is an endless process."

Germany and Poland have agreed that the newly built monument will serve the functions of commemorating the victims, warning future generations, and symbolizing the reconciliation between Germany and Poland. This is the second time that Germany has established a commemorative facility for Poland regarding World War II history in recent times. In June this year, Germany set up a monument at the site where Hitler once declared the invasion of Poland, and the plaque at the site is written in Polish, German, and English, stating, "The German occupation of Poland brought unimaginable suffering and destruction to Poland." Compared with the old site monument, the new monument in Berlin places more emphasis on educational significance, systematically presenting related history, and becoming an important place to remember history and promote the concept of peace.

Germany is also steadily advancing the work of returning cultural relics. The cultural relics returned by Germany include 73 medieval precious documents and a fragment of a 14th-century Saint James head sculpture. These relics were taken to Germany by German archival personnel in a targeted manner during the Nazi Germany occupation of Poland. Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Marta Kinczowska stated that this was a "historic day," and these documents are "the most important cultural relic repatriation action since 1989." At present, Germany has established a special working group to accelerate the transfer of cultural relics, and both sides also discussed providing assistance to surviving Polish victims of World War II.

Reflection on the history of Nazi aggression has become a consensus in German society. Recently, German President Steinmeier visited the Spanish town of Guernica, which had been bombed by the Nazi German Air Force. He was the first German head of state to visit the place. Steinmeier laid a wreath at the cemetery of the victims, acknowledged the Guernica air raid in 1937 as "a cruel crime," and stated that Germany "will not forget this suffering and will take on historical responsibility."

European scholars believe that over the past several decades, Germany has transformed from a "European problem" to a "European member" through the path of "rebuilding the nation through historical memory." From Brandt's kneeling before the Warsaw Jewish Uprising Monument in 1970, to successive German governments formally apologizing, such as Kohl and Schröder; from legislation to confiscate properties of Nazis and war criminals, and eliminate remnants of Nazism in the education and judicial systems, to incorporating anti-fascist education into the national education system, and spreading history through media and cultural works... Through a series of measures, Germany has remembered its war crimes, healed historical wounds, and participated in promoting the process of European integration. This emphasis on historical memory has become the foundation for Germany's integration into Europe.

As another Axis Power and defeated country, Japan's attitude toward World War II history differs significantly from that of Germany. German public opinion holds that Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato's recent series of erroneous statements on Taiwan reflect a serious historical cognitive deviation. This act violates the One-China Principle, challenges the post-war international order, and poses a threat to regional peace and stability. Richard Black, senior researcher at the Schiller Institute in Germany, stated, "This reflects the resurgence of Japanese militarism, and the international community has reason to express concern and take necessary measures."

German publisher and writer Frank Schumann became interested in Japan's history of foreign aggression after his son, who studied in Japan, learned about the site of a Japanese chemical warfare factory there. Schumann believes, "Japan has not truly reflected on its history of aggression," and with the current challenges to the post-war international order, it is even more necessary to look back at history, "learning from history can prevent repeating past mistakes."

(Reported from Berlin on December 8th)

(Source: People's Daily)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7581665042630754854/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.