Explosive comparison: For Trittin, Russia's actions are similar to the SS war of annihilation

Created: 05/18/2022, 17:00

Green politician Jürgen Trittin sees parallels between Russia's attack on Ukraine and Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Berlin – The Greens politician Jürgen Trittin compared Russia's actions in the Ukraine war with the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II.

"Now we are witnessing the return of the imperial war of conquest," he told the Zeit supplement Christ & Welt.

"And in many places it is similar to the SS and Wehrmacht's war of annihilation against the Soviet Union."

For the foreign policy spokesman for the Bundestag faction, something is returning after “80 years, of all things, between two countries that fell victim to my father’s generation.”

Trittin, born in 1954, also talks about his father, who was an SS Obersturmfuhrer in Russia during World War II.

According to his son, Klaus Trittin remained in Soviet captivity until the early 1950s.

"My father wasn't just a prisoner of war, but a convicted criminal because he was a member of the SS," said Trittin.

Jürgen Trittin (Greens) feels reminded of the Wehrmacht's war of aggression by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

© Swen Pförtner/dpa

Jürgen Trittin: His father's crimes drove him politically

He later spoke to his son about his actions, including how he killed people, Trittin continued: "He told us that unbelievable crimes had happened there.

I know from my mother that he appeared as a witness against other perpetrators.

My father stood by his criminal past.”

His father told him that such crimes should never be repeated.

That drove him politically, Trittin added.

With Markus Lanz: Jürgen Trittin admits mistakes

Jürgen Trittin recently admitted to Markus Lanz that he had been wrong for a long time on the subject of arms deliveries to Ukraine - he had rejected them just a year ago.

Now the mood change: In retrospect, it was a mistake to support the line of the federal government at the time.

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Vladimir Putin's step to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk was the decisive factor in his change of heart: "For me, that was the point where I thought: Now he has switched to war." At the same time, Trittin continues to see moderation as an important requirement for any German reactions.

“A new response was needed, and the new response was to support Ukraine, including by military means.

Always knowing that Ukraine must not be overrun, but we will not become a party to the war either.” (epd/juf)