Reagan’s Visit to Germany
It was comforting to read that President Reagan is now ready to visit a Nazi concentration camp. Nevertheless, President Reagan will still visit a German military cemetery at Bitburg. “Buried there are 1,887 German soldiers--including a few dozen members of Waffen SS units--killed in the final months of World War II, primarily in the nearby Battle of the Bulge” (Times, April 17).
I join Elie Wiesel, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, in condemning the President’s visit to the Bitburg cemetery.
Wiesel wrote (Editorial Pages, April 17) that he saw the President weep at a White House ceremony commemorating the Holocaust. Wiesel wrote that the President is a good, warm, sensitive person. The memory of the Holocaust is important to him.
I accept Wiesel’s assessment because I respect Wiesel as a man and the work he’s performing. Nevertheless, there’s a pain in my heart and questions.
The President may shed tears for victims of the Holocaust, but he still plans visiting a cemetery where SS soldiers are buried. Public pressure has swayed him to visit a concentration camp and pay his respect to the 6 million victims. But in the light of personal experience since President Reagan took office, I question his sincerity.
MORRIS GOLD
Newbury Park
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