On 22 January 2014, the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists (Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten, short: VVN-BdA) organized a lecture and discussion evening on Friedrich Hoßbach’s commemorative cultural work in Göttingen. The former commander of the 51st Panzer Corps was significantly involved in the deportation of the civilian population in Azaryčy. He was released from captivity in 1947 without ever being held legally responsible for his crimes. He lived in Göttingen until 1980, where he organized events glorifying the Wehrmacht immediately after the end of the war, which were attended by numerous celebrities and thousands of people, thus contributing to the cult of remembrance surrounding the Wehrmacht.
Focussing on one of the leading figures behind the Azaryčy operation, the aim of the VVN-BdA was
„den immer noch wabernden Nebelschleier einer vermeintlich “ehrenwerten Wehrmacht” [zu] lüften und zu einer kritischen Betrachtung der hiesigen regionalen Militärgeschichte bei[zu]tragen“1 (German original)
“to lift the still wafting veil of fog of a supposedly “honorable Wehrmacht” and contribute to a critical examination of the local regional military history.” (Translation of the German original)
- Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten (VVN-BdA): Ungesühnte Kriegsverbrechen. Der Göttinger General Hoßbach als Kriegsverbrecher im Vernichtungskrieg der Wehrmacht, 22.01.2014. Access via: goest.de/naziopfer.htm (last checked: 30.06.2024). ↩︎
