Schleswig-Holstein Parliament President Commemorates End of WWII and Nazi Crimes
Kristina Herbst, President of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament, delivered a commemorative speech on May 8, 2026, marking the anniversary of the end of World War II. Speaking in the state parliament, the CDU politician emphasized that May 8, 1945, signified not only the conclusion of six years of war but also the end of twelve years of National Socialist terror and mass murder. She highlighted the liberation of various persecuted groups, including victims of the Shoah, Sinti and Roma, political opponents, and homosexuals. Herbst specifically recalled the tragedy of the Cap Arcona and Thielbek ships in Neustadt Bay, where nearly 7,000 concentration camp prisoners died in a British air raid just days before the war's end. She framed the date as a day of liberation for both the occupied nations and the German people from dictatorship. Furthermore, she connected this liberation to Germany's democratic rebirth, noting that the first elected Schleswig-Holstein state parliament convened exactly two years later on May 8, 1947. The speech underscored the inseparable link between the end of the Nazi regime and the establishment of new democratic institutions in the region.
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Schleswig-Holstein Parliament President Commemorates End of WWII and Nazi Crimes
Kristina Herbst, President of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament, delivered a commemorative speech on May 8, 2026, marking the anniversary of the end of World War II. Speaking in the state parliament, the CDU politician emphasized that May 8, 1945, signified not only the conclusion of six years of war but also the end of twelve years of National Socialist terror and mass murder. She highlighted the liberation of various persecuted groups, including victims of the Shoah, Sinti and Roma, political opponents, and homosexuals. Herbst specifically recalled the tragedy of the Cap Arcona and Thielbek ships in Neustadt Bay, where nearly 7,000 concentration camp prisoners died in a British air raid just days before the war's end. She framed the date as a day of liberation for both the occupied nations and the German people from dictatorship. Furthermore, she connected this liberation to Germany's democratic rebirth, noting that the first elected Schleswig-Holstein state parliament convened exactly two years later on May 8, 1947. The speech underscored the inseparable link between the end of the Nazi regime and the establishment of new democratic institutions in the region.
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