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Bitburg is a city in Germany that has an American airbase. It is also home to a cemetery where members of the Nazi SS are buried, which incited controversy in the 1980s.
Controversy
On April 11, it was announced that then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan would visit the Kolmeshohe Cemetery there, at the suggestion of Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany, to pay respects to the soldiers interred there. The White House staff was under the impression that those interred included both American and German soldiers. The visit was intended to be symbolic of the goodwill between the two countries, but unbeknownst to Reagan and deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver, 49 members of the Waffen-SS were buried there, and not one American. On top of this, Reagan had no plans to visit a concentration camp during his tour of Western Europe in connection with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the end of war.
This planned visit caused a great deal of moral anger, mainly on the part of Jews and former World War II soldiers. Many prominent government officials, U.S. Army officers, and celebrities, protested the planned visit. Concentration camp survivor and author Elie Wiesel spoke out, saying, "I ... implore you to do something else, to find another way, another site. That place, Mr. President, is not your place." 53 senators (including 11 Republicans), signed a letter asking the president to cancel, and 257 representatives (including 84 Republicans) signed a letter urging Chancellor Kohl to withdraw the invitation. The Ramones recorded the song "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)," which alludes to Bedtime for Bonzo and Bonzo Goes to College, two movies from Reagan's film career that co-starred a chimpanzee, and Frank Zappa recorded "Reagan At Bitburg".
Chancellor Kohl responded that he and the West Germans would be insulted if Reagan didn't go ahead with the visit, and it was shown in a poll that more than half of West Germans were in favor of the visit. Reagan defended himself by saying that the members of the SS buried at the cemetery were mostly teenagers drafted against their will, and were as much victims as the Jews were. This only made the situation worse in many eyes, though the first part of Reagan's assertion proved to be somewhat true.
Despite urgings from his wife Nancy and many prominent figures in government and entertainment, Reagan went ahead with the visit on May 5, saying that, "This visit has stirred many emotions in the American and German people too. Some old wounds have been reopened, and this I regret very much, because this should be a time of healing." In an effort to placate the protesters, he added a concentration camp to his itinerary, giving a speech there that was regarded as "skillful exercise in both the art of eulogy and political damage control" by TIME magazine, in which Reagan famously said, "...we can and must pledge: Never again."
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