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| Former Buchenwald concentration
camp inmates pay their respects during ceremonies to mark the
60th anniversary of the camp's liberation,
in Weimar.(AFP/DDP/Jens-Ulrich Koch) | |
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has led a
commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis'
Buchenwald death camp.
He urged the world never to forget the horrors perpetrated by the
Nazis.
Survivors joined the ceremonies in eastern Germany where US troops
freed 21,000 prisoners on 11 April 1945.
About 56,000 people died in Buchenwald, used to detain Jews, Soviet
prisoners of war, Jehovah's Witnesses, political prisoners, homosexuals
and many others.
Buchenwald - opened in 1937 - had no gas chambers as in the Auschwitz
death camp, but prisoners were murdered by lethal injections or being
shot, or were worked or starved to death.
"They fell victim to hunger, sickness, the
sadistic terror and systematic
murder," Mr Schroeder said in a speech.
"I bow before you, the victims and their families."
Some of the survivors, many of whom are now in their 80s, wore their
prison uniform caps to the ceremony, where a choir sang a song written by
two inmates that became a secret and unofficial anthem.
The prisoners rose up against their guards as the US troops approached
and about 21,000 were liberated, many in dire health.
Mr Schroeder said: "We cannot change history, but
this country can learn a lot from the deepest shame of our
history."
（Agencies) |
德國總理格哈特·施羅德主持了納粹布痕瓦爾德集中營解放60周年的紀念活動。
他強調世界不能忘記納粹犯下的恐怖罪行。
集中營幸存者們參加了在德國東部舉行的紀念活動。1945年4月11日，美國軍隊在德國東部解放了21000名囚犯。
布痕瓦爾德集中營是納粹用來囚禁猶太人、蘇聯戰俘、宗教和政治囚犯以及同性戀者等人的地方。大約有56000人死在這兒。
布痕瓦爾德集中營建于1937年。不像奧斯維辛集中營，布痕瓦爾德并沒有毒氣室，但囚犯們會被注射毒針處死，或被槍斃，還有的囚犯則因過度勞累或饑餓而死。
德國總理施羅德在演講中說：“他們是饑餓、疾病、殘暴和有計劃的謀殺的受害者。”
“我在這里向所有受害者和他們的家屬們致敬。”
一些幸存者戴著當年囚犯制服的帽子參加這次紀念活動，他們中有許多已是80多歲的老人。一個唱詩班合唱了兩名囚犯當年在集中營內所作的歌曲，這首歌成為當時集中營非正式的秘密圣歌。
當美國軍隊逼近集中營時，囚犯們開始起義，反抗集中營的看守。約有21000人獲得了解放，但許多人的健康情況都非常糟糕。
施羅德說：“我們無法改變歷史，但我們的國家可以從歷史上最深的恥辱中學會很多。”
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-04-13 11:03
