02:04Germany: Leningrad veteran, Daniil Granin, addresses Bundestag
Germany: Leningrad veteran, Daniil Granin, addresses Bundestag
Russian author and veteran of the Leningrad siege, Daniil Granin, 95, spoke at the Bundestag in Berlin on Monday as part of commemorative events on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Among government representatives in attendance today were Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Joachim Gauck, Foreign Minister Franck-Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.
Granin recalled how one mother secured her daughter's survival during the siege: "A mother lost her 3-year-old child. She put the corpse between the windows – it was in the winter. Every day she cut off a small piece to feed her daughter, to save at least her. The daughter didn’t know the truth, she was 12 years old. Only the mother knew everything, but she kept herself from dying, kept herself from going insane."
Reflecting on his time on the frontline in Leningrad, Granin added: "I couldn’t excuse Germans for this expectation of capitulation, anticipation of the death of the city. Of course, the memories faded over the years, and I understand that the war I had to go through, like any war, was full of dirt and blood – we'd had enough of both."
The siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and claimed the lives of almost one million people.
02:04Germany: Leningrad veteran, Daniil Granin, addresses Bundestag
Russian author and veteran of the Leningrad siege, Daniil Granin, 95, spoke at the Bundestag in Berlin on Monday as part of commemorative events on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Among government representatives in attendance today were Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Joachim Gauck, Foreign Minister Franck-Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.
Granin recalled how one mother secured her daughter's survival during the siege: "A mother lost her 3-year-old child. She put the corpse between the windows – it was in the winter. Every day she cut off a small piece to feed her daughter, to save at least her. The daughter didn’t know the truth, she was 12 years old. Only the mother knew everything, but she kept herself from dying, kept herself from going insane."
Reflecting on his time on the frontline in Leningrad, Granin added: "I couldn’t excuse Germans for this expectation of capitulation, anticipation of the death of the city. Of course, the memories faded over the years, and I understand that the war I had to go through, like any war, was full of dirt and blood – we'd had enough of both."
The siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and claimed the lives of almost one million people.