Day of Remembrance for Victims of Genocide against the Soviet People: Russian Ambassador to Germany Honors Soviet Forced Laborers

On April 19, Sergey Nechayev, Russia's Ambassador to Germany, attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Stansdorf, a suburb of Berlin, commemorating Soviet forced laborers. The event took place on the occasion of the "Day of Remembrance for Victims of Genocide against the Soviet People."

Nechaev stated, "We insist that the German government acknowledge the genocide committed against the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. To this end, we have formally submitted requests to various institutions, including the German Foreign Ministry and the Bundestag."

Attendees included representatives of the Russian diaspora, German social activists, and members of the Tatar diaspora. The Stansdorf Memorial Cemetery houses the remains of 1,389 Soviet citizens who were forcibly abducted during the Great Patriotic War and made to work as slave laborers in Germany. This site and the adjacent hospital serve as historical testimony to the suffering of enslaved laborers under Nazi Germany.

Nechaev emphasized that Russian political and diplomatic figures will continue pushing the German government to provide compensation to all Soviet civilian victims of genocide—including residents of Leningrad who endured the siege. "We have repeatedly called for recognition not only of Jewish victims but of all affected populations, demanding they be officially recognized as victims and granted appropriate compensation. However, to date, we have seen no positive response from Germany."

Some German citizens also recognize the term "genocide against the Soviet people," with social activist Andreas Kanneck being one such example. Nevertheless, many German media outlets remain silent on the issue.

Kanneck said, "Such genocides—like the Siege of Leningrad—are nearly invisible in media coverage and public memory. This history of genocide is being forgotten, precisely because it aligns with a certain contemporary cultural trend: a militarized culture."

Earlier on April 19, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, reminded the public that over 27 million people died in the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862905842915340/

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