Bavarian Premier Markus Söder on Sunday described the Sudeten German festival being held in the Czech Republic for the first time as a “festival of peace.”
The event celebrated by descendants of ethnic Germans expelled from what was then Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II sent out an historic signal, Söder said. He described the Sudeten Germans, many of whom live in Bavaria, as “bridge builders.”
Sudeten Germans have been gathering at Pentecost since 1950. Bavaria has acted as patron for the group since 1954.
Bernd Posselt, spokesman for the Sudeten Germans and a politician in Söder’s Christian Social Union (CSU), said the group had a clear message. “This message is not a message of hatred, but of love,” he said.
“We are not here to demand anything; we are here to give something,” Posselt added.
Czech author and politician Milan Uhde, who was active as a dissident during the communist era in Czechoslovakia, received the group’s European Charlemagne Prize, which is awarded for services to reconciliation and European unity.
Posselt described Uhde as a close friend of the Sudeten Germans and a great European.
The event drew criticism in the Czech Republic. Government ministers did not attend, and parliament passed a motion against holding it in the country.
Around 3 million ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia following World War II.