Re-Examined Pasts: Labelled As the Instigators of World war II, Germans have Long been Denied the Right to Publicly Mourn the Loss of Land and Loved Ones

As Canadian veterans celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe, the passage of time has allowed the healing of old wounds. For the German people who suffered so much loss, their mourning can finally be made in public. When the Iron Curtain descended across Europe, history in the Soviet sphere was suspended. Recent history was then re-written to suit the political goals of the new masters and false history was created to buttress the new national alignments and alliances. The collapse of communism 40 years later in Eastern Europe re-animated the historical record, shook up the patched-over alliances, revived old animosities and long-suppressed passions.