Germany Steinmeier on July 20, 1944: "Protecting democracy"
On the 80th anniversary of the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for a commitment to democracy.
20.07.2024, 14:37
SDA
"Let us not leave the field to the vociferous despisers of democracy, but let us protect our democracy," said the head of state after a visit to the exhibition at the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin. This is the best tribute that can be paid to the assassins of July 20, 1944 and all others who resisted National Socialism.
Steinmeier had previously attended a memorial service and placed a wreath on a plaque. On July 20, 1944, Wehrmacht officers led by Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg tried in vain to kill the dictator Hitler with a bomb, overthrow National Socialist rule and end the Second World War. Stauffenberg and three others involved were shot that evening in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock. The memorial is now located there.
The Federal President said: "The resistance against National Socialism was necessary because the democracy of Weimar did not have the support it needed." Today, in a liberal democracy, commitment to this is still the order of the day. "Not hatred and agitation and certainly not violence. Violence destroys democracy." Steinmeier paid tribute to the entire German resistance against the Nazi dictatorship. It was not about "flawless heroes". It was about people "who did the right thing at the right moment and at the greatest risk to themselves and their families."
