nam 22 uu 4500 10.59704/10f12c9cbb4c3c53 DE-Verfassungsblog cr||||| 250207s2025||||xx#|||||o|||| ||| 0|eng|| 10.59704/10f12c9cbb4c3c53 doi eng 342 23 Schulze Wessel, Martin Author aut (orcid)0000-0001-5365-978X Memory-driven Foreign Policy - How German memories shaped views on Russia and the decision to supply weapons to Ukraine Schulze Wessel, Martin Verfassungsblog 2025-02-07 Text txt rdacontent Computermedien c rdamedia Online-Ressource cr rdacarrier The German debate on whether and to what extent Germany should support Ukraine in its war against Russia with arms supplies is closely linked to Germany’s collective memory. For a long time, Germany's guilt for the crimes of occupation during the Second World War was largely associated with Russia – and not with Ukraine and Belarus. It is only since the Russian invasion in 2022 that the highest levels of the German government have begun to recognize the special responsibility Germany has towards Ukraine, a responsibility that also stems from the memory of the Second World War. Along with this change, it can be observed that the imperative of ‘never again’, closely tied to the German memory of the Second World War and especially of the Holocaust, is gradually being formulated in more abstract terms in historical-political debates, despite some resistance. CC BY-SA 4.0 BSW Belarus German foreign policy Germany NATO NATO Olaf Scholz Russia Russian War against Ukraine Scholz Olaf | 1958– | Politiker; Rechtsanwalt Ukraine Ukraine Wagenknecht Sahra | 1969- | Politikerin Herausgeberin Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerin Publizistin historical memory (DE-588)4079143-9 gnd Belarus (DE-588)16138900-4 gnd Germany (DE-588)377-3 gnd NATO (DE-588)139130810 gnd Scholz Olaf | 1958– | Politiker; Rechtsanwalt (DE-588)4061496-7 gnd Ukraine (DE-588)119253925 gnd Wagenknecht Sahra | 1969- | Politikerin Herausgeberin Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerin Publizistin Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH Verfassungsblog 2366-7044 https://verfassungsblog.de/memory-driven-foreign-policy/ raw object