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An activist poses next to a comfort woman statue in Berlin. (Nam Eun-ju, Berlin correspondent)

One of the reasons behind the decision to leave a Berlin comfort woman statue in place rather than removing it was German public opinion sympathizing with South Korea regarding Japan’s handling of postwar issues in the wake of World War II, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Dec. 10.

Germany is the only country in Europe where statues have been raised to remember victims of wartime sexual slavery by imperial Japan. The newspaper quoted a foreign affairs source as attributing this to the activities of local Korean civic groups and public opinion in Germany that is receptive to South Korea’s arguments. As an example, it mentioned tendencies observed in German press reports. At the time that Seoul and Tokyo were clashing over the Berlin statue’s placement, German news outlets were critical of the Japanese government, with one contending that the “response by Japan’s right wing and conservative government is not helpful toward resolving or preventing wartime sexual violence.”

The newspaper also noted that many German researchers studying Japan have been critical of the way it handled postwar issues. Steffi Richter, a University of Leipzig professor who studies Japan’s New Right and historical revisionism, was quoted as saying that networks associated with these right wing figures were involved in the attempts to have the statue removed.

“Germans tend to hold the belief that they did a good job of handling the situation after the Nazi government, but that Japan’s actions have been inadequate,” a foreign affairs source was quoted as saying.

“In some respects, Korean civic groups have been taking advantage of that sense of pride among Germans,” the source suggested, implying that the decision to keep the statue was influenced by perceptions among Germans who believe that Germany properly resolved the matter of its Nazi administration after WWII, while Japan failed to clear away the vestiges of militarism.

The Yomiuri Shimbun predicted that the issue “will continue into the long term in spite of Japan’s efforts to explain and encourage a proper attitude toward its handling of postwar matters.”

In a hearing on Dec. 1, the council for Berlin’s Mitte borough approved a resolution to the statue’s continued placement. In addition to withdrawing a previous order for the statue’s removal, the resolution also included a six-week extension of the placement’s original end date from Aug. 14 to late September of next year. It also called on the borough and its council to take part in developing plans for the statue to remain in place permanently.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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