Russians and Germans are not confronting each other but are close together now, sixty years after World War II, stressed the minister.
Major-General Vladimir Myasnikov, Hero of the Soviet Union-another speaker at the ceremony, called to make greater efforts to bring the two nations closer together. "We took part in the rout of Nazism, and it is specially clear to us that the Soviet and German nations went through a horrible tragedy during the war. They need reconciliation and a further rapprochement more than anyone else," he said.
Opened November 7, 1947, the Baruth cemetery is the last abode of 1,200 Soviet soldiers who died in the last WWII days.
One can only regret that restoration works on this memorial complex are not yet over now, close to the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The efforts are to go on, said Reinhardt Fuehrer, president of Germany's popular union for tending wartime graves. He thanked the Defense Minister for promoting the noble cause.
Another commemoration ceremony was held today in Halbe nearby. It has one of the largest WWII cemeteries, with 23,000 graves of German soldiers and Soviet civilians deported for hard labor.
There are close on 3,600 cemeteries all over Germany with the graves of 760,000 Soviet people, according to the union statistics.
