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Willy Brandt on December 7, 1970: "You had to do something"
Photo: AP
It was a gesture that made the world stand still for a moment: On December 7, 1970, Willy Brandt knelt in front of the memorial for the victims of the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto.
The Social Democrat was celebrated for his courage and was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Half a century after the famous kneeling, the eldest son of the Chancellor at the time commented on the gesture.
Peter Brandt described his father's kneeling in Warsaw 50 years ago as a sign of humility.
"An attempt was made to portray it as submission," Brandt told the Düsseldorf Rheinische Post.
“Of course, it is also in the tradition of Western Christianity.
The kneeling was definitely not meant as submission, but as a gesture of humility, ”said Peter Brandt.
He was very impressed.
"Of course I have dealt in depth with the concept of the so-called New Ostpolitik, but regardless of that, I am still very touched today when I see the gesture in the film."
When asked whether he was proud of his father's bow to the victims of the Nazis in this way, Brandt said: “I think, in the narrower sense, you can only be proud of what you have done yourself.
But in a broader sense, I would answer the question in the affirmative. "
Peter Brandt left it open whether the kneeling was spontaneous or planned.
"Spontaneity wasn't exactly his forte." There was a lot of speculation about whether it was really that spontaneous.
“Some have said that this knee fall would not have happened without training it first.
It's all speculation - he didn't tell his family either.
My mother wanted to know. "Brandt, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his Ostpolitik, only said to her:" You had to do something. "
"Of course it is conceivable that my father knew beforehand that laying the wreath would not be enough, and then kneeling would come spontaneously - we do not know."
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