Berlin slams BiH minister Kosarac for sending Nazi helmet in "deeply shocking" diplomatic breach

The Minister, a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), committed this scandalous act by sending a Nazi-era helmet to the High Representative, along with a letter titled "Letter to the Occupier," according to the Srna news agency. The highly offensive letter reportedly contained a series of insults, involved Schmidt's family, and explicitly accused him of being a follower of Nazi ideology and Hitler. Furthermore, Kosarac told Schmidt that it was "time for him to leave this country because only then would this country have a chance," adding, "the people in this country should decide their own destiny without you." The Minister also failed to adhere to diplomatic protocol by neglecting to address Schmidt with formal respect.

Minimization of Holocaust crimes

The German Embassy stressed that equating Christian Schmidt with the National Socialist regime represents a serious minimization of the crimes of National Socialism and is entirely inappropriate.

"Such comparisons are not only tasteless, but also a conscious distortion of historical facts," the statement read. The act of sending an SS helmet as an 'artefact' was called an additional expression of disrespect and provocation, entirely lacking in diplomatic ethics and unbecoming of a public office holder in a European country aspiring to EU membership.

The Embassy noted the particularly disturbing timing of this incident: it occurred on the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Nuremberg Trials, which established the legal and moral foundations for dealing with NS crimes.

"Making such inappropriate and hurtful comparisons is unacceptable," the Embassy asserted, concluding that the misuse of historical context for political polemics offends the memory of the victims and stands in opposition to the spirit of international cooperation and responsibility.

The German Embassy reiterated its support for High Representative Christian Schmidt and his work toward a peaceful, stable, and democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina, simultaneously appealing to all responsible parties in the country to return to a factual, constructive, and respectful political discourse.