page_title: Bitburg controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Bitburg controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Ceremonial visit by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to the Kolmeshöhe Cemetery, near Bitburg, West German in May 5, 1985, with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl // Detail: Protester with Transparent saying "America is ashamed Mr. Presdent" Deutsch: Besuch des US-amerikanischen Präsidenten Ronald Reagan am 5. Mai 1985 auf der Kriegsgräberstätte Bitburg-Kolmeshöhe in Bitburg, zusammen mit Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl. // Detail: Demonstrant mit Transparent „America is ashamed Mr. President“ (dt. Amerika schämt sich, Mr. Präsident)
context_page_description: The Bitburg controversy preceded and followed a ceremonial visit by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to a German military cemetery in Bitburg, a town in extreme western Germany, in May 1985, designed to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe 40 years earlier. The visit aroused considerable criticism in the United States and around the world, when it became known that of the nearly 2,000 German soldiers buried there, 49 were soldiers of the Waffen-SS, the military arm of Nazi Germany's SS. The entire SS was judged to be a criminal organisation at the Nuremberg trials. The fact that Reagan had not been scheduled to visit former Nazi concentration-camp sites compounded the controversy, and a trip to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was later added to his itinerary.
context_section_description: The Bitburg controversy preceded and followed a ceremonial visit by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to a German military cemetery in Bitburg, a town in extreme western Germany, in May 1985, designed to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe 40 years earlier. The visit aroused considerable criticism in the United States and around the world, when it became known that of the nearly 2,000 German soldiers buried there, 49 were soldiers of the  Waffen-SS, the military arm of Nazi Germany's SS (Schutzstaffel). The entire SS was judged to be a criminal organisation at the Nuremberg trials. The fact that Reagan had not been scheduled to visit former Nazi concentration-camp sites compounded the controversy, and a trip to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was later added to his itinerary.
caption: Protester with sign
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