Munich Mayor Christian Ude said there was no legal way to stop the planned parade for Fasching , as carnival is known in Bavaria.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: On Jan.
27, 1945, Red Army soldiers freed Auschwitz captives "The memorial day is not a holiday and has no particular legal protections," Ude told Lutherans to Open Doors to Cash-Strapped Catholics ...
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Tagesspiegel newspaper. Thus the authorities had no "legal means" of stopping people from celebrating on that day.
The annual remembrance date was established by the UN General Assembly in 2005 and is not a public holiday in Germany.
Central Council of Jews critiques move
Germany's Central Council of Jews strongly criticized the decision to plan a Carnival parade for that day, and the Munich Jewish community said that a fun event on Jan. 27 showed a total lack of sensitivity.
According to Ude, parade organizers learned of the Holocaust remembrance date too late to change their plans. But he said the city would be careful to avoid such date conflicts in the future.
The head of the group that planned the parade, Peter Bosse, said he was "concerned" by the late criticism. The date had been set since May of 2007, and no one had voiced opposition to the procession.
Still, he acknowledged that the date was ill-chosen.
Remembrance on date Auschwitz was freed
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Playing the fool is an important part of celebrating German carnival The memorial day held on Jan. 27 is meant to remember the more than 6 million Jews and other victims of the Nazi regime. On that date in 1945, the survivors of the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau were freed by the Red Army.
In 1996, then-German President Roman Herzog declared the day a national day of remembrance "for the victims of National Socialism." The UN made it official in 2005.
The timing of Carnival, which is tied to the date of Easter in the Catholic Church, changes every year.
(Deutsche Welle)
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