Source 1

Source: Adapted from the Judgement ofInternational Military Tribunal(Nuremberg) (1946).

Note:

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Located in southern Poland, it was the largest concentration camp that the Nazis from Germany built during World War II. 90% of the victims here were Jews from various European countries.

Source 2

Source: Adapted from the Judgement of International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1948).

Source 3

Source: Xinhuanet, 19 October 2012, with English translation.

Notes:

Yasukuni Shrine

The shrine is dedicated to the Japanese soldiers and military dependentswho were killed in recent foreign wars. From 1978, the shrine has included dedications to Hideki Tojo and 13 other Class-A war criminals of World War II.

Japan’s Military Flag

A Japanese flag known as the Rising Sun Flag was used by the Japanese soldiers during World War II and was a symbol of militarism and aggression.

Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Memorial

In 1940, Nazi Germany set up the Jewish ghettos in Warsaw, Poland. There were 450,000 Jews in the region at its peak. On 19 April 1943, the Jews organised an uprising in the region, which was brutally suppressed and many Jews were killed. In 1948, the Polish government built the Memorial to commemorate the uprising (and the murdered Jews).

  1. According to Sources 1 and 2, what did Nazi Germany and Japan do to the Jewish and Chinese people respectively during World War II?

Genocide.
  1. What is Brandt doing in front of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Memorial in the cartoon in Source 3?Who does he represent? What is he trying to express?

He kneels.
He represents the government and the people of West Germany/the entire
German nation.
Toexpressrepentance/remorse/guilt and regrets.
  1. What is Shinzo Abe doing in front of the Yasukuni Shrine in the cartoon in Source 3? What does he wish to express?

He payshis respects.
To express respectfor those who sacrificed for Japan.
  1. What is the cartoonist’s attitude towardsShinzo Abe’s action? Find two pieces of evidenceto support your answer?

 / Praising his action /  / Criticising
Abe holds in his hand the Rising Sun Flag,which is often criticised as a symbol
ofmilitarism./
The lines above Abe’s head and the expression in his eyes show that he is
surprised by Brandt's action.Maybe he even feelsashamed./
The title "A Contrast in Human Consciousness" emphasises the vast difference
in how Abe and Brandt expresstheir regrets.
  1. If you have to choose either Brandt or Abe as a global citizen, who will you choose?

 / Brandt /  / Shinzo Abe

On 7 December 1970, Willy Brandt, then Chancellor of West Germany, visited Poland.His official visit schedule included a few minutes' stay at the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Memorial, where he laid a wreath and bowed solemnly.Then,suddenly, he went down on his knees and knelt, a move that was not planned in advance.

On 7 December 2010, German President Wulff and Polish President Komorowski went to the same Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Memorial to present a wreath.Wulff praised Brandt’s kneelingact as a great historic gesture of reconciliation. Later, Wulff pointed out that Brandt knelt on behalf of the Germans to express the utmost honour to the millions of Holocaust victims, many of whom were Polish citizens.

Wulff said, "Brandt assumed responsibilities in a broad sense for the past, present and future, thereby developing a different image of the Germans, a different Germany, a Germany that is free, democratic and peaceful, a country that seeks reconciliation with its neighbours."Wulff pointed out that he was then 11 years old and Willy Brandt's great gesture left a deep impression on him. Brandt’s gesture of humility and reconciliation continued to leave its mark on people today.

On 17 October 2012, Shinzo Abe, then Prime Minister of Japan (from 2006 to 2007) and President of the Liberal Democratic Party, visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Then, he said, "I visited the Shrine as an LDP leader in order to express reverence for the spirits of the war dead who gave their lives for their country."

The Yasukuni Shrine is located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. As the shrine is also dedicated to people like the 14 Class-A war criminals of World War II, it has been seen by various East Asian countries as a symbol of Japanese militarism, and Japanese politicians’ visits to this shrine are seen as highly controversial.

In September 2012, when he was contesting in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe said in a press conference that he regrettednot visiting the Yasukuni Shrine when he was the Prime Minister of Japan because of concerns from China and South Korea. Some analysts believed that Abe was trying to embrace and make use of the rapid rise of populist sentiments within Japan by deliberately using shrine visit as a tool to gain a political advantage for him to reach his goal.

In addition, some analysts pointed out that until today, Japan is still unable to face with honesty and heal the wounds that were inflicted on its Asian neighbours during the war, so the shadow embedded in the minds of the people in South Korea, North Korea, China and many Southeast Asian countries remains today.

In December 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party won the general elections to the House of Representatives, and Abe was again appointed Prime Minister for Japan. On 16 December 2013, he visited the Yasukuni Shrine as a Prime Minister.

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