Gravestones with Nazi insignia from German prisoners of war from the second World War in US military cemeteries have become a controversial issue in the US Congress. Minister of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, historically opposed calls to remove a total of three gravestones from two military cemeteries in the states of Texas and Utah at a Congress hearing on Thursday (local time). They also played a part in preserving the memory of the Holocaust, he argued. “I think we can find a way to put that in a historical context.”
–
Republicans and Democrats Congressmen had Wilkie in a letter asked to remove or modify the gravestones. Swastikas are engraved on the gravestones and the following inscription is to be read on one of them: “He died far from home for the leaders, the people and the fatherland.” Monday’s letter said the gravestones were “particularly offensive to all the veterans who have risked and often lost their lives to defend this country and our way of life.”
“Heartless and Unacceptable”
The authority emphasized loudly “CNN” on Monday, one was aware of the gravestones, which had been in cemeteries since the 1940s and had been approved by the United States Army. According to the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies in the United States are required to protect places or structures that are important to American history. In their letter, the congressmen found that Adolf Hitler’s honors, as engraved on the tombstones, were not compatible with the intent of the law.
–
The letter also said that families visiting their deceased relatives who were buried in the same cemeteries as the Nazi soldiers they were fighting should not be confronted with symbols of hatred. The fact that the ministry has so far insisted on keeping the tombstones in their shape is “heartless, irresponsible and unacceptable”.
–
