In her essay for the socialist International Committee of the Fourth International (IKVI) dated May 14, 2024, Verena Nees reports on the commemorative events held in Osnabrück and Berlin to mark the 80th anniversary of the Azaryčy death camps. In addition to retracing the events of 1944, Nees complains about the alleged lack of reappraisal of the events. The author accuses the German government of denying the Wehrmacht’s guilt for war crimes and, in return, of being interested in an arms race against Russia and genocide in the Gaza Strip.

On the contrary, increased historical research into the events in Azaryčy in recent years, various publications across different media as well as official visits by German diplomats and politicians to Belarus show that Germany is very interested in coming to terms with the past. Nees’ essay must therefore be seen more as an inconclusive attempt to use what she sees as a lack of reappraisal to criticize current political developments. Rather, the essay impressively shows how historical events and their reappraisal are used for political purposes.
Nees, Verena: 80 Jahre Osaritschi 1944. Eines der schwersten Verbrechen der Wehrmacht gegen Zivilisten. Access via: wsws.org/de/articles/2024/05/14/ozar-m14.html, 14.05.2024 (last checked: 30.06.2024).