European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 6, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 the stars and stripes May 1985 protesters object to Bergen Belsen visit so photo by Emmell Lewis police confiscate a Banner being made by protesters near the Bergen Belsen concentration Camp by de Reavis staff writer Germany massive police presence and tight Security failed to deter protesters at the Barge Nielsen concentration Camp memorial Sun As president Reagan walked from his helicopter in front of the four americans and one dutchman held up signs and unfurled a Banner behind a police cordon and began dont go in leave dont appease Reagan is demonstrating a distinct Lack of historical american Richard Kaplan if he were confronted with the Graves of his murdered rela i think hed react i just had to come after Reagan said the is were equally victims of the third said Amsterdam businessman Fred i had to come and make a statement with this Banner in in Many Reagan has been a Friend to my but in this Case he is very As the Small demonstration was occurring near the Entrance to the police were keeping about 300 demonstrators on the Road from Belsen out of reagans ten minutes after the president a bus carrying 55 mostly members of the International network of children of jewish holocaust sur they had come to hold a service in the men and women of All Ages filed through the Gate of at the first sight of the vast Heath with its plateau like mass some began to falter and had to be supported by their tears were wiped from at the jewish memorial dedicated by his the former chairman for the International network of children of jewish holocaust Menachem the new made a speech refer ring to the presidents visit before saying who was born in the called the with its mass one of the holiest Sites in the because the remains of jews Are still referring to Reagan and Kohls visit minutes be Rosensaft in Stark contrast with the words that have been spoken Here Bergen Bel sen has today been exploited for the political interests of these two and the Sanctity of this place has been Rosensaft said both men should understand that the jews Are committed to reconciliation and Friendship with but we shall never accept or acquiesce in any reconciliation with the third he Rosensaft then spoke briefly in saying that the dead victims Are not forgotten neither those who died in the fighting As nor those in the Warsaw ghetto after speeches by Bergen Belsen survivor Kalman Sultanik and Stephen who was born in the the site filled with hundreds of visitors from All parts of the Many of them carried banners decrying the Reagan Kohl Pitburg visit others called for nuclear Dis spaniards stage anti Reagan marches Madrid a tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown Madrid and other Spanish cities sunday to protest the today visit to Madrid of presi Dent Reagan is scheduled to arrive in the Spanish capital monday afternoon for a 41 hour police gave no estimate of the number of marchers in any of the but organizers in Madrid estimated about people participated in the organizers of a protest in Spain second largest estimated the crowd there at several thousand demonstrators marched through the rain in three Northern Basque cities to protest reagans the National news Agency efe in san police and demonstrators no arrests or injuries were bearing Attinato and anti Reagan the peaceful Madrid protesters called for the dismantling of the four leased bases in Spain and Spanish withdrawal from the North Atlantic treaty Organ an agreement Between Spain and the United states allows the United states use of four socialist prime minister Felipe Gonzalez has promised to Call a referendum on Spain continued membership in nato by next Spain became the 16th member of nato in May 1982 under a centrist gov at the head of the protesters car ried a Banner Reading bases nato other banners were aimed against capitalism and policy in Central a few banners criticized both nato and the Warsaw groups of youths Spray painted anti Reagan slogans on Walls of one group bore a Flag with 50 Black swastikas in place of White the Madrid March organized by leftist and pacifist groups lasted two it ended when police intervened to Stop the burning of american flags demonstrators had pulled Down from the City of Madrid has Hung american and Spanish flags along a main thoroughfare in Honor of reagans state according to recent polls conducted by several different opposition to Spanish membership in nato varies anywhere from 64 to 31 percent a similar variance occurs for those favouring continued nato Pitburg coverage showed Media at worst analysis by Bill Shipp Cox news service Germany if the German military cemetery at Pitburg is to become a Symbol of any it ought to be of the american news medias ability to twist president reagans visit Here into an International the cemetery is As has been a memo rial to nazism filled with bodies of fanatical is men killed in the Battle of the by american the military cemetery is a modest it is a Grassy Oval tract containing the bodies of 59 of whom were their Graves Are marked by plaques made of locally produced each Marker carries the persons when it is and the dates of his birth and in some it carries the soldiers there is Only one officer buried in the a Waffen is named August of the world War ii dead in the 49 were members of the Waffen and 17 of those were Between the Ages of 17 and thirty three of the is men were killed in september and october of the Battle of the bulge did not commence until the following so it is unlikely that Many of those interred Here participated in that it is True in the Early part of the the Waffen is were hitlers elite combat forces and oper ated outside Normal military by with the allies racing across Europe into the German Young boys and old men were drafted into the is to my out their War depleted in German authorities contend convincingly that there is no evidence to connect anyone buried at Pitburg with the massacre of unarmed americans at Almedy in december 1944 or with any other in the midst of the Graves stands a 36meter Stone Tower commemorating the on the inside Wall of the Tower Are these words no one has greater love than to give his life for his for the past 25 years on German memorial the third sunday in German and French forces stationed in the Pitburg area have joined with local officials in laying a Wreath in the the outcry against reagans planned visit to Pitburg has left Many local residents shocked and feelings have run so in that Pitburg mayor Theo Hallet distributed a dear fellow Citi Zens letter to the people of his it in while we respect the right of people to think differently than we we reject the manner in which some of these people articulate their such As their vandalism of private and Public property and other hostile acts against the the mayors of fice declined to give details of such the letter continues let us speak for continued Good German american by their visit on the 5th of Reagan and Chancellor Helmut Kohl will Seal our we look Forward to this event As a Means of supporting German american Pitburg was used As a staging area for German Armor and artillery at the outset of the Battle of the when the americans recovered from that of they struck at Pitburg with a the town was destroyed by elements of George rations 3rd army in fierce fighting commanders of the German army retreating from the City sent dispatches describing Pitburg As a dead when american troops entered the the Only life they found was 65 civilians huddled in a wine they found the bodies of another 500 civilians killed in the but Pitburg bounced even before the shooting in his Book War As i knew Patton wrote the mention of Pitburg reminds me of an incident i saw which is very illustrative of the i entered the town from the South while fighting was still going on along the Northern which was not too far As Pitburg is a Small in spite of the fact that shells were falling with considerable i saw five three women and two re roofing a they were not waiting for Pitburg is now a thriving town of another american service members and their dependents Are stationed Here under the command of the 9th air 36th fighter Ironi flew some of its first missions against the Ger mans in the ardennes Campaign in the relationship Between the americans and the townspeople has been extraordinarily each mayor Hallet holds open House at his office for new arrivals at the american his office re ports that More than Pitburg women have mar ried americans Here since from a the Pitburg visit and ceremony involving Reagan and Kohl appeared up they seem completely there were no plans to Honor dead nazi War criminals on As you May have been led to distributed by the times
