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Waffen-SS veterans praise Reagan Bit burg visitNESSELWANG, West Germany (AP) — Most of the 300 Nazi SS veterans attending a reunion here support President Reagan’s visit to the Bitburg cemetery where some of their comrades are buried, one of the veterans said Friday.“We need the symbol of reconciliation.’’said 67-year-old Josef Burgmuedler And it's also important that (Reagan) stuck to his decision.”Burgmuedler was one of several veterans who ventured out of theclosed gathering and agreed to speak to a reporter.Reagan’s Bitburg visit was a popular topic of conversation among the veterans and most of the 300 attending the reunion supported Reagan’s visit, he said.The SS was Hitler's elite guard, and it ran the concentration camps and massacred civilians Burgmuedler said his group, the 3rd Panzer (tank) division, was a front-line unit and should not be associated with the atrocities committed by other Waffen SS members.The unit was designated as a death’s head division because of theskull insignia on their uniforms.Another veteran, 64-year-old Rainer Hanke, said he lost his right arm after four years of fighting on the Russian front.I only saw the front. I lost my arm when I was 22 years old. Then, when I came home, I was shunned as a criminal — I was a Nazi. Hanke said.
Newspaper Details
Nashua Telegraph
Nashua, New Hampshire, US
Sat, May 04, 1985
Page 2
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USA 14 Nov 2023
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