Gunter Grass's "poem"

Gunter Grass, a German author and recipient of the Nobel prize in literature, has published a poem titled "What must be said" in Suddautche Zeitung, one of the largest daily German newspapers. The poem points that it is Israel's defence and potential preventive attack on Iran that threatens world's peace.

Let's remind the facts: Grass, born in 1927 in Gdańsk (at that time Danzig), so called free-city under League of Nations supervision where the war has started on dawn of 1 September 1939, was serving from 1944 in waffen SS, paramilitary German organisation formed under auspices of Nazi party, which was declared as criminal one during Nurnberg trial. He claimed he was conscripted (and that is true) but has been reluctant to admit having participated in it for 60 years after the war as well as tried not to mention that at the age of 15 he tried to join German navy (right when the Holocaust has started for good) but was rejected as too young.

This brilliant author but - to say the least and very mildly - extremly doubious moral figure - declared in his poem that it is Israel, constantly attacked throughout the years, under attack from Hezbollah openly backed up by Iran that is threat to the world's peace. Not Iran declaring openly the will to "wipe Israel of the map", not Syria massacring its own people 3 month in a row, not Palestinian Authorities declaring that they want no single Jew in Palestine if it is created, not post-revolution Egypt rioting for breaking peace with Israel and expelling her ambassador. No, it is Israel.

In 1933, soon after coming of Hitler to power, Pilsudski, Polish leader, proposed France joint, preventive attack on Nazis, as Hitler was breaking already the Versaille treaty's rules and started his war-talk. France refused. So many million of lives (60 millions in total claimed by WWII) could have been saved. But there was no will. Even in 1938 Chamberlain and Deladier prefered to apeace Germany and brag about "bringing peace" (the price of which was paid by Czechoslovakia in Munich).
Had the USA join anti-Nazi coalition earlier there would be no Pearl Harbour and probably less Holocaust victims as the war would have been over sooner. Had Israel NOT attacked Egyptian air force in 1967 when Nasser mobilised all his troops and ceased all the normal live in Israel (as everybody was conscripted and the whole economy just stopped) she would be no longer. Had Poland not gave the first blow to Soviet army in 1920, when they gathered on her borders under Budionny the fate of Poland would have been sealed in 1920. But nobody in their right minf could compare aggresive war (like German attack on Poland, Netherlands, France, UK or Japanise attack on the USA) with defensive one (Polish troops in September 1939 though Chamberlain was very unhappy Poland was defending herself; UK in WWII, Israel in 1948, 1967, 1973 and so on).

Apparently for Grass it is defending one's country that is bad - certainly, he was on the agressor's side without doubt in the last huge world war. And certainly there is nothing new nor dangerous in attacking Israel in Europe. Few years ago Ernst Nolte, German historian, said thet the only reason between Israel and Nazi Germany is the lack of Auschwitz. He must have never heard about Kristalnacht, Nurnberg law, discrimination and so on. Or maybe he never realised that ALL citizens of Israel have the same rights and ALL the wars Israel was fighting were defensive ones sometimes with armies of 5 different countries at the same time.

Somebody with Grass's past, Grass's authority and Grass's experience with hiding his past when he so much supported Nazis should know better when to keep silent even if he is morally blind enough not to understand the difference between Nazi Germany and defending democracy and freedom.

Below I add link to a good article about the whole case.
about Grass's poem
another well-written article on the topic