Word: kohl
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West German officials contend they were surprised when the President told reporters last month that he did not want to offend his German hosts by visiting a concentration camp, which he said would run the risk of "reawakening the passions of the time." Kohl had told him that 60% of the present German population had been born since the war, and Reagan exaggerated that point at his press conference: "Very few [of the German people are] a live that remember even the war, and certainly none of them who were adults and participating in any way." The careless and obviously...
Aides to the Chancellor insist that Kohl wrote Reagan a letter shortly after his Washington visit that repeated his hopes for a presidential trip full of upbeat symbolism. One paragraph, they say, mentioned Dachau as a Konzentrationslager that Reagan should see out of respect for its victims. Reagan aides would not confirm that such a suggestion was repeated by Kohl. Moreover, they contend, lower West German officials expressed pleasure that Reagan had publicly announced his intention to avoid such an appearance. A senior Bonn official concedes, "Quite a lot of German people were pleased about the decision...
...misunderstanding between the two allied leaders was amplified by a second letter from Kohl to Reagan last week. In the letter, which was made public in Bonn, Kohl stressed that he had proposed the visit to the Dachau memorial site and added: "I ... request you to either include the concentration memorial site in Dachau or another memorial for the victims of Fascist terror in your visiting program." When the letter was received at the White House, one U.S. official said, "The President read it and looked up in astonishment. He took off his glasses and said, 'Hell...
...controversy by admitting he had made a mistake. He could have canceled the wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery and simply given a speech outlining his commitment to American-German amity. The reason he had not done so by week's end apparently stemmed from his concern for Kohl, who would lose face if Reagan backed out of the Bitburg ceremony...
That was made clear on Friday in a personal telephone call to Reagan by Kohl. Indirectly, Reagan raised the possibility of bypassing Bitburg for a less explosive site. Speaking in a somber tone out of keeping with his amiable personality. Kohl advised Reagan that to cancel Bitburg could impair official relations between the two governments and, more important, hurt "the feelings between Germans and Americans." Reagan assured Kohl that he would not buckle under to the pressure at home...