W. Germany Seeks Reagan Visit After May Summit

The Bonn government wants President Reagan to remain a few days in West Germany after the conclusion of the May economic summit meeting here and possibly visit a former Nazi concentration camp, a government spokesman said Monday.

“We would welcome a state visit but nothing has been decided yet,” chief spokesman Peter Boenisch told reporters.

He said if Reagan does add a few days to the May 2-4 summit of major industrialized nations for a state visit, he probably will go to a former Nazi concentration camp to pay his respects to the victims of Nazi tyranny.

Boenisch called completely unfounded a West German magazine report that the government opposes a Reagan visit to the former Dachau extermination camp in Bavaria.

“It was never a matter of dispute,” he said. “It is understandable that a visit at such a time would include a trip to a concentration camp.”

By “such a time,” Boenisch was referring to May 8, the 40th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) at the end of World War II in Europe.

The approach of the date has led to a discussion in West Germany of the proper way to observe an anniversary that is greeted with mixed feelings.

Commentators suggest that West Germans can join the World War II victors in celebrating the end of the Nazi dictatorship. But they note that the end of the war also led to the division of Germany and the establishment of a Communist state in East Germany.

The West German government, which maintains close ties with Germany’s former enemies, the United States, Britain and France, also fears that the anniversary could revive old enmities.

There also have been suggestions for Reagan to visit other Western European countries, possibly Spain, Portugal or Austria, around the time of the economic summit.