Merkel talks about importance of Europeana's WWI project
On Saturday in her weekly podcast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked to historian Frank Drauschke about the Europeana Awareness First World War-related project Europeana 1914-1918. In the interview, she discussed the importance of such projects that invite people to participate in Europe´s history. They serve as a reminder that it would be 'better to negotiate 20 hours longer and talk' than ever return to such a situation of war in Europe, said Merkel. Below is the interview in German.
Credit: Die Bundeskanzlerin
An excerpt from the interview:
Frank Drauschke:
Ordinary, everyday testimonies of war, such as diaries, field mail and photos are preserved in Europeana as common cultural heritage across all borders and former trenches. They show clearly that the individual suffering and horror of the war were the same on all sides. What contribution does this form of applied history hold for the further integration and development of Europe?
Chancellor Merkel:
It shows how great the suffering was. I was once invited to one of the commemorations in France, in Paris, by the former president Sarkozy. And I looked into the eyes of the elderly who were still shaped by the idea of traditional enmities and an alleged insuperability of the trenches. All of a sudden, we are reminded again of the terrors of this war by such a project and our present-day living together. We are reminded that everywhere the casualties were the sons of mothers and fathers and that they were young men who were mourned by their wives. This also shows once again, how much effort we must invest to ensure that such a thing will never happen again. Rather negotiate 20 hours longer and talk, than ever return to such a situation in the middle of Europe.
To read the full interview in English, click here.
For the German transcript, click here.