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Potsdam / Cottbus (dpa / bb) - Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) has called for the defense of democratic achievements on the 76th anniversary of the end of the war.
"May 8th is a day of remembrance, commemoration and warning," he said on Friday in Potsdam.
The Nazi dictatorship and the Second World War claimed millions of victims.
The memory of this unimaginable suffering is always kept alive as a warning.
May 8th also stands for a new beginning, stressed Woidke.
European unification is the political response of the peoples to the devastating world wars of the last century.
"Despite all the current difficulties and especially in times of the corona pandemic, we must not jeopardize this important achievement."
In Cottbus, the 76th anniversary of the end of the war and the liberation from Hitler's fascism were commemorated with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soviet memorial.
Mayor Holger Kelch (CDU) said that the soldiers of the Red Army, who bore the brunt of the war, were remembered, but also the other victims of fascist barbarism.
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In Cottbus, too, this included the Jewish population, who were systematically expelled, abducted and killed, as well as the many forced laborers - mainly from Poland.
The right-wing extremist activities that crop up again and again must be countered, emphasized Kelch.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-506904 / 2