Papers mark war commemorations

The commemorations by victors and vanquished of the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe attract wide coverage in today's papers - except in Russia, where they are too busy celebrating to publish their dailies.

Germany's Berliner Zeitung says that the speech made by President Horst Koehler to parliament on Sunday to commemorate VE Day "sets a new tone" and reflects a new German self-awareness in facing up to its past.

President Koehler, it says, not only looked at the twelve years of horror of the Nazi era, but paid even more attention to the 60 years that followed.

The concepts of shame, contempt and disgust which he used to describe national socialism leave no doubt as to his fundamental stance Die Tageszeitung

In his speech, the paper adds, Mr Koehler noted confidently that Germany has "successfully learned the right lessons" and now Germans have every reason to be proud of their country.

Die Tageszeitung says Mr Koehler "did his best" in giving a difficult speech.

"The concepts of shame, contempt and disgust which he used to describe national socialism," it adds, "leave no doubt as to his fundamental stance."

No one "need prove anything more", the paper says, even if the remark that the far-right has no future in today's Germany "may sound a little too hopeful".

'Guarantor' of peace

In France, the anniversary of VE Day provides grist to the mill of the campaign for the 29 May referendum on the European Constitution.

The European Union stands as a bulwark against the return of nationalisms which ... are harbingers of war Liberation

The European Union, says Paris's Liberation "is the symbol, the instrument and the political guarantor" of 60 years of peace in Europe.

"For some people, and especially the young," the paper adds, "peace is a given, and remembrance of Europe's past wars carries little weight in comparison with the present social and economic difficulties."

"But the European Union," it argues, "stands as a bulwark against the return of nationalisms which - as (the late French President) Mitterrand said - are harbingers of war just as dark clouds are harbingers of tempest."

The Czech Pravo finds it a "good thing" that "Germany... is fully celebrating liberation, and not just the end of the conflict".

Since hundreds of thousands of Germans were persecuted by the Nazi regime or died in concentration camps, this is a form of "reparation" for their offspring, it says.

The Slovak Pravda warns that even as Europe celebrates the end of the war, there are innocent people suffering in present conflicts.

"It would seem that some people failed to learn from the tragic events of 60 years ago," the paper says, "even though the lesson remains very valid indeed that any weakness shown towards extremism can strike back in the cruellest possible form."

The paper points out that many ideas promoted by Hitler's admirers are the same adopted by the international terrorism. "Only international co-operation can effectively stop such forces," it concludes.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad.

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.