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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 3, 1985
PAGE 7
advance team from the White House, in going to the cemetery, did not notice
the SS gravestones, apparently because of snow on the ground.)
A howl of protest then arose among World War II veterans organizations and
especially Jewish groups and concentration camp survivors.· (The SS as a
whole was responsible for running the camps, although the Waffen-SS units,
who were elite combat forces, were not involved.) The President was urged
in many quarters, including 82 members of the Senate, to cancel the Bitburg
portion of his state visit to West Germany. On the eve of his visit, over
300 House members also recommended cancellation. Chancellor Kohl, however,
insisted that the trip remain as planned, as the prestige of his government
was on the line, to say nothing of the very future of the u.s.-German rela
tionship. Despite the domestic opposition, the President held firm, great
ly relieving his embarrassed and aggrieved German hosts.
White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan told reporters that Mr. Reagan is
"anguished" by the protests aroused by the planned visit, and he added
during an interview on CBS News' televised "Face the Nation" program that
"the Presi-dent has been quite upset, as he's been a staunch friend of
Israel."••• Mr. Regan added that the affair will "leave a scar on him (Rea
gan), because he is wounded by this internally. In his heart, he will be
hurt at what has been said about him and his insensitivity, when he's a very
sensitive person," Regan said of the President.
It was reported in the WASHINGTON POST that former President Richard M.
Nixon privately urged President Reagan last week not to back down from
plans to visit the cemetery. The POST claimed that White House sources said
that former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger also urged Reagan to go
ahead with the planned visit, citing the importance of relations with West
Germany.
The strongest remarks against the visit were made by Senator Alan Cranston
(D-Calif.), who went further than other senators in suggesting that rela
tions between the two countries could be seriously damaged if Reagan goes
ahead with the visit. "If Germany, in its insistence on our President's
honoring the Nazi war dead, is trying•••to pretend that the Nazis were any
thing other than the lowest and vilest of eriminals, then we must wonder
whether the lessons of World War II have already been forgotten by the cur
rent leaders of Germany," Cranston said. "If that is so, perhaps � had
better reassess£!!!. relationship" with� Germany.
It is a bit ironic that so much fuss should be made over the cemetery in
Bitburg. The town itself is small--only 12,000 inhabitants. It is part of
an unusual "twin city" arrangement. Located nearby is the site of the U.S.
Air Force 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, which houses 11,000 Air Force person
nel and their dependents. The residents of Bitburg largely live off the
U.S. military business. Ever since the base was constructed in 1952, local
relations between Germans and Americans have been good. In the biggest
irony of all, on every Memorial Day since 1959, the U.S. base commander has
joined the mayor of Bitburg in laying a wreath at the same spot where the
President was asked to place one. It goes without saying that the burghers
of Bitburg are confused. It has, as one source stated, "shaken the faith of
many citizens here; people who are openly proud of the hospitality they of
fer servicemen from a country they believed was their closest ally."