berman@ihlpg.UUCP (Andy Berman) (05/06/85)
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Perhaps the most revealing words on the meaning of
President Reagan's visit to Bitburg come from the
Veterans of the SS meeting in West Germany:
New York Times, May 3rd, 1985:
"They stood relaxed, shaking hands, introducing wives, these men
of Germany's dark past, looking forrward to a three-day meeting...
The Hotel Knone in Nesselgang [is] where 250 veterans of the Waffen
SS Death's Head Division have gathered.
Conversations with the veterans leave no doubt that President Reagan's
insistence on going to Bitburg has made them feel better about their
role in history.
Said Gerd Hofer, a 77-year old SS veteran: 'You have to congradulate
your President. When he says yes, he means yes'"
"In response to a reporter's question about whether he felt rehabilitated
by the President's gesture, Johan Rosenberg, a 63-year old Death's head
veteran said: 'I can only say he is a real straight guy'"
There where anecdotes about the Fuhrer, usually in a tone of subdued
reverence. 'My proudest moment as an SS man', Mr. Hofer related, 'was
when I stood guard outside his hotel room in Leipzig in 1941. Hitler
was such a modest man', he said with a slight fleeting modualation
in tone, 'he would come out, take you by the arm, chat with you'"
"The veterans bitterly deny the contention [that SS soldiers were
drafted]. 'That is nonsense, pur nonsense. No one was forced into the
SS'"
Refering to the President's visit to Bitburg, Maj. Gen Otto Remer, a
73-year ofld Waffen SS veteran said: 'It was high time, after all
we're all in NATO'"
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