Germany shuns 1914 centenary: Academics say country has adopted 'stupid' and 'inappropriate' reluctance to commemorate start of First World War

Germany showing 'disinterest' in commemorating start of First World War

Academics accuse leaders of adopting 'stupid' reluctance to participate



This is despite Britain pledging £50million in public money to mark event



Germany is showing ‘disinterest’ in commemorating the centenary of the start of the First World War - despite meetings with the British government to try to coordinate the ceremonies.

Britain has pledged £50million in public money to mark the event, with school trips to battlefields and ceremonies planned over four years.

But visits by officials to Germany to discuss the centenary have provoked little interest, with academics accusing their leaders of adopting a ‘stupid’ and ‘inappropriate’ reluctance to participate, according to reports.

Reluctance: Germany is showing 'disinterest' in commemorating the centenary of the start of the First World War, despite meetings with the British government to try to coordinate the ceremonies (file picture)

The French government has also embraced the centenary, planning 1,500 events across the country.

It has invited warring parties for a ‘peace demonstration’ on Bastille Day, July 14.

A German-British ceremony is planned the next day in Belgium, which was invaded by German troops on the first day of the war, August 3, 1914.

But there are few plans for events in Germany itself.

Vow: Britain has pledged £50million in public money to mark the event. Above, Prime Minister David Cameron visits the grave of a soldier who died in the First World War in Heuvelland, Belgium

According to German reports, the senior diplomat in charge of the events, Andreas Meitzner, has done little except meet experts to discuss the WW1 plans.

However, one project he has been closely involved with is the plan to build a French-German museum at the site of the Hartmannsweilerkopf battlefield in French Alsace where up to 30,000 Germans and Frenchmen died on what the troops called the ‘Mountain of Death.’

French President François Hollande and the German Federal President, Joachim Gauck will lay a foundation stone for a new museum chronicling the fighting there at the start of August next year.

There are also exhibitions planned at the German History Museum in Berlin and the Army Museum in Dresden.

Memorial: A French-German museum is expected to be built at the site of the Hartmannsweilerkopf battlefield (pictured) in French Alsace, where up to 30,000 Germans and Frenchmen died during the war

‘Our look is at reconciliation, to have as many former enemies together as possible and to show that we have learned from our mistakes,’ said Norman Walter, a spokesman for the German Embassy in London.

But Holfer Afflerbach, a German who is professor of central European history at Leeds University, said: ‘Both the UK and France have set aside vast funds for the commemoration and in good time, while Germany decided that their efforts would be reactive - so no wonder many feel that attitude is a bit stupid.

‘It is now clear that there will be a last minute arrangement which seems a bit inappropriate.’

Tribute: French President François Hollande will lay a foundation stone at the site of the battlefield in August next year

German historian Gerd Krumeich, who is advising the French government on the centenary, said the German government was ‘fundamentally uninterested’.

The French were irritated with the ‘we want nothing to do with it’ attitude of the Germans, he said.

He added: ‘It is a different experience for each country. There is no such thing as a common European mindset or sensitivity, Europe very much remains a rational idea.’

Over the course of 52 months, the war left 10 million dead and 20 million injured on battlefields from the North Sea coast to the deserts of the Middle East.

Some six million Britons served in the Armed Forces during the war, and 800,000 of them never came home.

That is more than twice the number of troops as perished in World War II.

Historian Max Hastings has called for the British government not to bury Britain’s role in the war or to shy away from attributing blame to the Germans.

‘We are witnessing a depressingly familiar spectacle. Political correctness has taken hold. Those planning the commemoration feel almost embarrassed that we won the war, and are determined to say and do nothing that might upset Germany, our modern EU partner,’ he wrote in the Daily Mail.

‘I can think of no greater betrayal than for the British Government next year to pretend that they perished for nothing, because ignorant or frightened ministers flinch from upsetting today’s Germans, who have readily understandable reasons for wishing to ignore yet another of their nation’s least fortunate anniversaries.’

‘Both the UK and France have set aside vast funds for the commemoration, while Germany decided that their efforts would be reactive'

- Holfer Afflerbach



Norman Walter, press attaché at the German embassy in London, said in August ‘it would be easier’ for Britain to adopt a ‘less declamatory tone’ if it wants Germany to take part.

‘Our feeling is that issues about who was guilty and all that should be left more or less to historians and shouldn’t feature dominantly in politicians’ speeches.

‘The biggest single contribution to the start of the First World War was Germany, but others played a part. Whether it was a win or not, it wasn’t worth it.’

Germany would prefer the commemorations to focus on the dead, rather than the battles.

Mr Walter also said the focus should be on the unity brought to the continent by the creation of the European Union.