Overview

• Russian Ambassador Sergej Netschajew visited Sachsenhausen to honor Red Army soldiers in a separate ceremony after being excluded from official WWII commemorations.
• Germany's Foreign Office recommended barring Russian and Belarusian diplomats from events to prevent potential exploitation of historical memory for propaganda.
• The Brandenburg Memorial Foundation explicitly requested Russian officials not attend commemorations, citing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
• Ambassador Netschajew emphasized the importance of post-WWII German-Russian reconciliation and expressed hope it would endure despite current tensions.
• The Sachsenhausen concentration camp is a significant site of remembrance, where tens of thousands, including 10,000 Soviet POWs, perished during WWII.