D for ‘Danke’ (Thanks)

D-Day. What a sentiment! Glinting swords, soldiers in ceremonial uniforms and dozens of heads of state and government who, in commemorative speeches, delivered a eulogy of the world war in solemn words; and veterans wore their old uniforms, to that end.

From a German point of view, the significance placed on this one day in a war that was not short of terrible days, is not immediately apparent. The places the Germans have burned into their memories are not called “Omaha Beach” or Ouistreham in Normandy but Stalingrad or Dresden. Despite this, German heads of government have taken part in the celebration for the past 10 years. Gerhard Schröder spoke in 2004 about the German retreat to within the civilized sphere of the international community. What Americans perhaps feel when they think about June 6, 1944 is illustrated by films such as “Saving Private Ryan” or the D-Day memorial in Bedford, Virginia, upon which the names of 4,413 Allied soldiers who lost their lives on this day are engraved.

In contrast to the total number of victims of the second world war, this number is rather small. Of course, the young Americans, Brits and Canadians who died on the beaches of Normandy did not fall in the immediate defense of their countries. The U.S.A. fought its own war — in the Pacific on the other side of the world. And in Britain, there are more than a few that say the Brits have shed enough blood for Europe’s sake.

So, for us Germans, the “D” has to stand for “Danke” (thanks). On D-Day, the Allies celebrate valor and the victims’ readiness to make sacrifices. We can celebrate our freedom. The so-called retreat to within the civilized sphere of the international community became possible in the first place with the liberation of Western Europe from fascism, which began with the invasion on June 6, 1944, and previously in Sicily. For this, thousands of Allied soldiers had to die. Even 70 years later we can only thank them for this.