On the eightieth anniversary of the end of the Siege of Leningrad, we remember the horror and the suffering that the German Wehrmacht inflicted on Leningrad and its population. Over one million people died as a result of the siege. The city and its people endured hunger, horror and immeasurable suffering for 872 days. This terrible war crime, this brutal act against an entire city and its population, still reverberates today.

Germany recognises its historical responsibility

Germany actively works to preserve the memory of the atrocious German war crimes committed during the Second World War, and expressly stands by its historical responsibility for the crimes committed in Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht. On the basis of a joint declaration in 2019, the German Government launched a “humanitarian gesture” towards all of the siege’s survivors. It is funding the modernisation of a hospital in Saint Petersburg as a gesture of reconciliation and remembrance. Many people who lived through the siege are treated in this hospital. The German Government also funds meetings with survivors of the siege in Saint Petersburg. These meetings allow young people to enter into conversation with the survivors, with the aim of strengthening and passing on the memory of the siege.

Germany recognises its historical responsibility and will continue to carry out these measures, in spite of the illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.