German coalition politicians break ranks on Greek WWII reparations
Leaders from the junior partner in Germany's coalition government have lent their support for Greek war reparations. They said Germany's moral and legal duties should be separated from the Greek debt debate.
In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel published Tuesday, leading politicians from the junior partner in Germany's governing coalition have lent their support to the idea that Germany should pay reparations from World War II to Greece.
"It's about recognizing the fact that we committed a serious injustice in Greece," Gesine Schwan, chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) values committee, told Spiegel.
The damages in question date back more than 70 years. Under the German occupation in WWII, thousands of Greeks were murdered, infrastructure was destroyed, and Greece's central bank was forced into giving Germany a loan. Germany never reimbursed individual claims.
http://www.dw.de/german-coalition-politicians-break-ranks-on-greek-wwii-reparations/a-18320151