Hundreds of World War II veterans who have immigrated to Germany from various parts of the former Soviet Union will parade through central Berlin on May 9 to the strains of a brass band to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the war.
In smart suits, with decorations on their chests, and with bunches of red carnations in their hands, the veterans will march from the Brandenburg Gate to the Soviet War memorial, the press service of the World Congress of Russian Jewry (WCRJ), which is organizing the event with support from the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the Russian Embassy in Germany, told Interfax.
The head of the WCRJ’s European section, Dmitry Feldman, said about 400 veterans would come to Berlin from all over Germany.
"Those people are not occupants or spongers but liberators for the German people, for the entire population of Germany. Politics, blocs, pacts, Hitler, Stalin, allies – all those are things of the past. The present means peace, welfare and worthy living. And that is something our fathers and grandfathers paid the most horrendous of prices for," Feldman said.
The planned parade is one in a series of Victory Day events organized by the WCRJ. On May 5, WCRJ President Boris Shpigel and Russian Ambassador to Israel Pyotr Stegny gave presents to Red Army veterans living in Israel.
