埼玉英語会 英検１級・準１級　コミュのRepenting historical wrongs

Repenting historical wrongs is a national pastime in Germany.
But even by German standards, the soul-searching over Berlin's Russia policy is
remarkable.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, many German politicians have
publicly admitted they got Vladimir Putin wrong. Even German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has apologised, saying it was a mistake to use
trade and energy to build bridges with Moscow.

"It's a bitter acknowledgement that for 30 years we emphasised dialogue and
co-operation with Russia," says Nils Schmid, foreign affairs spokesperson for
Mr Steinmeier's party, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). "Now we have to
recognise this has not worked. That's why we have entered a new era for
European security."

That new era was dubbed "Zeitenwende" - literally meaning a turning point
- by Germany's SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a now-famous speech in
the German parliament a few days after the invasion.

It means scrapping rules about weapons exports, a huge boost in defence spending
and an end to Russian energy imports. A Russian gas pipeline to Germany called
Nord Stream 2 has already been suspended.

"For the foreseeable future, co-operation with Russia will not occur. It will be
more about containment and deterrence and, if needed, defence against Russia,"
Mr Schmid says.


Unexpectedly hawkish words for a party that until seven weeks ago believed
Germany's historical guilt and moral duty to make up for Nazi crimes meant
peace with Russia at all costs.

But in Berlin, the war in Ukraine feels very close. The images of shelled
Ukrainian buildings look like German cities in World War Two.
And the third-of-a-million refugees, mostly women and children,
arriving at German train stations remind many here of their parents or
grandparents as children fleeing Russian soldiers in 1945.

Even Germany's view of its own history is changing.