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Greens: Germany should add colonial crimes to the culture of remembrance


BERLIN. The Greens have called for more intensive preoccupation with German colonial crimes. The Federal Republic must admit to a "genocide" against the Ovaherero and the Nama in Namibia. In addition, they are pressing for an official apology for acts committed during colonialism, as can be seen from the motion of the Greens, which was discussed in the Bundestag on Thursday.

“Massive injustice was committed in the German name. People were subjugated, cultures exploited and almost wiped out ”, criticized the deputy leader of the Greens, Agnieszka Brügger. All of this is part of German history. But there is still the “mistaken belief” that Germany was less bad than other colonial powers. Therefore, the topic must be given a "permanent place" in school books in the future.

Greens want to demolish monuments if necessary
The German culture of remembrance must "be expanded to include the injustice of German colonial rule, the associated crimes and anti-colonial resistance," the motion says. This includes changing “racist street names” . Corresponding monuments should also be examined, classified and, if in doubt, removed. In addition, according to the Greens, "stolen cultural goods" should be returned.

The cultural-political spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, Marc Jongen, accused the Greens of stirring up an "undifferentiated guilt narrative". Their goal is to fix cultural memory in a "traumatic endless loop". The party's demand was not motivated by a desire for reconciliation, but by “left self-hatred”, Jongen complained.

Left-wing MPs demand the dismissal of the Africa representative
The SPD member of the Bundestag Helge Lindh accused the AfD of continuing the "rhetoric of the colonial powers". In his opinion, the party should be ashamed of its demands.

The left-wing parliamentarian Kathrin Vogler criticized the Federal Government's Africa commissioner, Günter Nooke, during the debate. He had said in the past that colonialism, especially in Africa, had helped to liberate the continent from "archaic structures". That's why Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) should dismiss Nooke, Vogler demanded.

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