Czech-German Forum: Beneš Decrees belong to the past

The issue of the Beneš Decrees clearly belongs to the past, even though differing views on them may persist, the co-chairs of the Czech-German Discussion Forum, Rudolf Jindrák and Jörg Nürnberger, said in a joint statement on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Czech-German Declaration in 1997.

According to the co-chairs, Czechs and Germans have become good neighbours and active partners in NATO and the European Union, also thanks to the declaration. History, they said, cannot be erased, but it can serve as a warning for the future.

Today marks 29 years since the then Czech prime minister Václav Klaus and German chancellor Helmut Kohl signed the Czech-German Declaration, which became the foundation of Czech-German reconciliation. The declaration led to the creation of the Czech-German Discussion Forum and the Czech-German Future Fund, which among other things finances joint Czech-German projects.

Under the Beneš Decrees close to 3 million Germans and tens of thousands of Hungarians were stripped of their citizenship, property and expelled from Czechoslovakia after the war. In the Czech-German Declaration, both countries apologised to each other for past injustices and pledged to respect the legal order of the other state.