Memorial to German Soldiers Unveiled Near Sevastopol
The Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine Dietmar Studemann took part in the ceremony to unveil a memorial to German soldiers near Sevastopol. It is symbolic in itself that for the first time since World War II ended a German delegation stood on Sapun Hill. Many years after the war German veterans bent their heads before fallen defenders of Sevastopol. Wreaths from German and Sevastopol veterans were laid at the foot of the obelisk. Prior of St. Nicholas Church Father Heorhy Poliakov led a prayer for soldiers who shed their blood for their country.
A granite cross was erected at the German memorial. The inscription carved in German and Ukrainian at its base reads, “German soldiers killed in World War II rest in this cemetery. Let us remember our losses and victims of that war. Their fates exhort us to reconciliation.” All soldiers lying in the bed of honor were remembered in prayers of Father Heorhy and Father Leonid, prior of the Roman Catholic Community of St. Clement.
The German ambassador also took part in the opening ceremony of a German cemetery near the village of Honcharne where approximately 5000 German Wehrmacht soldiers and officers killed near Sevastopol are buried. Ambassador Studemann expressed his gratitude to every participant of this important action, which favors conciliation and mutual understanding between our peoples. Karl-Wilhelm Lange, Head of Volksbund German People’s Union to Maintain the Cemeteries of War Veterans, said that there are plans to create an international youth camp at Sapun Hill next year, where German and Ukrainian boys and girls will together take care of the graves of Soviet and German soldiers.
The cemeteries and memorial complexes to English, French, and Italian soldiers in Crimea have now been joined by a German one. Crimean inhabitants believe that this indicates a new stage of mutual understanding and reunion for the former belligerents, a new stage in their cooperation.
Speaker of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea Leonid Hrach received Ambassador Studemann. He assured the ambassador that “the Crimea was ready to host the Chancellor of the German Federal Republic even today and will be ready for his visit when its date is fixed at the official level,” announced the Crimean Supreme Council press service.
Expressing his acceptance of the statement that stabilizing public and political processes is possible only if based on the development and strengthening of the economy, the ambassador expressed his hope that the autonomous republic and its leaders would implement their constructive plans as soon as possible. Responding to proposals to promote business connections with German investors, Mr. Studemann displayed his interest in the potential of Crimean free economic zones and asked for more detailed information on them, promising to forward it to the German Economy Bureau.
The German ambassador held a serious conversation with the Crimean journalists. His estimation of Ukraine’s situation was friendly but strict in customary German way. He stated, “It is often said that Ukraine is a young state and that there are economic, political, and social obstacles preventing it from embodying these standards to the full extent. However, it is not so much an issue of the short time that has passed since the founding of this state as the absence of certain preconditions for transformation. Neither the organs of justice nor the legal mechanisms are ready to remove the obstacles to safeguarding the freedom of expression.”
