German leaders mention reparations to Greece

According to Deutsche Welle, Merkel warned those who wanted to put the country's Nazi past behind them that "there is no line to be drawn" in history and said that accepting responsibility also meant taking into account discussion of Greece's request for war reparations as well.

 "Of course, it is important that, for example, we do not have discussions with Greece alone, but with many other countries as well," she said, adding for example that it would be for her personally "a very significant moment" when she travels to Russia on May 10 and, along with the Russian president, lays a wreath at the Unknown Soldier's Tomb in memory of millions of dead for whom Germany was responsible in World War II.

In a newspaper interview appearing on Saturday, German President Joachim Gauck also saw positively on Friday Greece's demands for World War II reparations, even though the current government has rejected the possibility
 
In a report by Reuters among others, Gauck was quoted as saying in "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" daily that Germany must seriously consider the issue of its historical responsibility towards Greece.

"We are not only people who are living in this day and age but we're also the descendants of those who left behind a trail of destruction in Europe during WWII -- in Greece, among other places, where we shamefully knew little about it for so long," Gauck said, adding, "It's the right thing to do for a history-conscious country like ours to consider what possibilities there might be for reparations."