D-Day events show past is not what it used to be

紀念諾曼底登陸六十周年德國總理施羅德接受邀請

Sixty years after Allied forces launched their assault on German troops on D-Day, the monumental battle for the Normandy beaches is living up to the historians' maxim that the past isn't what it used to be.

The anniversary celebrations on June 6 will bring together wartime victors United States and Britain and their former enemy Germany, smaller Allied nations whose soldiers were there on D-Day and a big one whose weren't -- Russia.

They won't all look back on "the longest day" as mainly a triumph of Allied military might. The Germans now talk about it as the dawn of their liberation from Nazism. Russians tend to rank D-Day below their 1943 victory at Stalingrad.

But with time moving on and veterans dying off, the daring invasion is settling back into the annals of historical events whose meaning can be moulded in the light of subsequent events.

French President Jacques Chirac set the tone for the 60th anniversary commemoration in January by saying it would stress "this community of values that unite democracies and transcend yesterday's rivalries" and announced Germany would attend.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told reporters that it was only right that Germany should take part because it was also liberated from Nazi tyranny thanks to D-Day.

"This day is much more than victory or defeat," he said. "This invitation shows the post-war period is over and done for good."

Some US and British veterans' groups have frowned on the invitation, which President Francois Mitterrand could not extend to Chancellor Helmut Kohl for the 50th anniversary in 1994 because it could have offended the ageing survivors.

(Agencies)

在英美盟軍登陸諾曼底、發動對德進攻六十年后，這場爭奪諾曼底海灘的不朽戰役應驗了歷史學家們的格言：人們對于歷史的認識并不是一成不變的。

6月6日的周年紀念慶典使戰勝國英國、美國和它們曾經的敵人德國聚到一起，參加紀念活動的還有曾經在登陸日參與諾曼底登陸的同盟國成員中的小國，以及當時同盟國成員中的大國——俄羅斯，盡管它沒有派軍隊參加諾曼底登陸。

當他們回想起那“最長的一天”，他們不會都將這看作盟軍軍事力量的勝利。如今德國人認為那是他們擺脫納粹主義，獲得自由的開始，而俄國人則傾向于諾曼底登陸紀念日的意義不及1943年斯大林格勒戰役勝利的意義。

然而，隨著時光流逝，老兵們相繼去世，這次大膽的入侵正漸漸成為歷史，這類歷史事件的意義會在后續事件中逐漸形成。

今年一月，法國總統雅克·希拉克就為六十周年紀念奠定了基調，他稱此次紀念將強調“共同的價值觀，它能使民主國家團結在一起，并且超越過去的仇恨”，他還宣布德國也將出席紀念活動。

德國總理施羅德告訴記者，德國應該參加這次紀念活動，因為也正是諾曼底登陸的勝利使德國從納粹暴政中獲得了解放。

他說：“這一天的意義遠不止勝利或失敗。這次邀請德國參加紀念活動意味著戰后（敵對）時期結束了，永遠結束了。”

一些美國和英國老兵組成的團體并不贊成此次邀請，這也是1994年五十周年紀念時，法國前總統弗朗索瓦·密特朗沒能邀請德國前總理赫爾穆特·科爾參加的原因，因為那會得罪那些年老的幸存者。

D-Day: 諾曼底登陸日（代號D日）
live up to: 符合，不辜負（期望等）
annals: 歷史記載，史冊
in the light of: 按照，根據

(中國日報網站譯)

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