Former German Chancellor equates comfort women’s suffering to Holocaust victims

Gerhard Schroeder, Former German Prime Minister calls for Japanese apology during visit to House of Sharing. 

“It’s a huge shame that Japan hasn’t found the courage 'to apologize' for the violent acts it has perpetrated in the past. I know that the people here don’t have feelings of revenge or hatred [toward Japan] but fervently want Japan to acknowledge and apologize for its past [misdeeds],” said former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

At 3 pm on Sept. 11, Schroeder, who is 73 years old, visited the House of Sharing, a group home for former comfort women for the Japanese Imperial Army located in Toechon Township, Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Schroeder has consistently criticized Japan for its failure to express contrition for the past. This is the first time that a former or current foreign head of state has visited the House of Sharing. Schroeder served as the Chancellor of Germany from Oct. 1998 until Nov. 2005.

“I visited a truly heartbreaking place. The people who are here shouldn’t be called ‘comfort women.’ ‘Comfort’ carries the connotation of voluntary will. These women did not provide comfort; they were cruelly injured by the violence of war,” Schroeder told reporters on Sept. 11. “The cruel violence of war cannot be undone. I actively approve and support the idea of these victims of Japan’s wartime violence being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.” (from the Hankyonreh newspaper)