Church leaders: Europeans must remember WWII to avoid recurrences

Published: 2005-05-13

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Europeans must continue to remember the violence of World War II to keep it from happening again, German church leaders said in a statement to mark the end of the war on their continent. "The history of violence that came from German territory and hit Germany too, intentionally or not, still exercises a grip on the life, way of thinking and sensitivity of people. So the need constantly re-emerges to debate our history and its interpretation. Whoever loses their memory loses their bearings," said the statement, signed by German Catholic bishops as well as other leaders. The statement in late April and Masses and ecumenical prayer services in early May helped mark Allied troops' liberation of Europe from national socialism, or Nazism. Most of Europe marks the date as May 8, although Russians and former Soviet nations mark the anniversary May 9 each year.

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