Expellee row

The representative of Germany's Jews on the board of a controversial museum for German World War II refugees has threatened to stand down in a row over its content.

In an interview with Der Spiegel newsmagazine, the vice president of the Central Council of Jews, Salomon Korn, urged a shift in emphasis in plans for the museum, which is being overseen by the Foundation for Flight, Expulsion and Reconciliation.

The permanent exhibition is intended to document the plight of people forced to flee their homelands as a result of World War II - including German expellees who were forced to flee land that was incorporated into Poland and the Soviet Union.

Korn, a member of the foundation's board, said that exhibits to depict the suffering of Germans must be set in context with wartime outrages committed by the Nazis. The Central Coucil of Jews as a whole was prepared to abandon its participation in the project, he said, if the museum did not dealö with the theme of German expulsion in connection with the World War II and Nazis crimes against humanity.

"We will not play a token role. There are clear boundaries for us," Korn told Der Spiegel, adding that he was prepared to boycott his post or even stand down completely.

Criticism of expellee group

The Jewish group has criticized the role of the German Federation of Expellees (BdV), which has pushed for the creation of a museum dedicated mainly to the fate of 15 million Germans forced to leave Eastern Europe in 1945. It has also demanded transparency over the wartime past of certain officials who have served the BdV.

Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Thierse warned that the foundation was in danger after a Czech and Polish historian resigned from its academic committee.

"The withdrawal of committee member from neighboring states places the idea of the foundation in fundamental danger," said Thierse. "It should not become a purely German affair."

Efforts to erect a museum that would tell the story of displaced German refugees have been controversial.

BdV head Erika Steinbach renounced her claim to a place on the board in a deal with the German government. Berlin was worried that Steinbach's views would damage Germany's relationship with Poland. Steinbach is a hate figure in Poland for her stance on several issues related to German expulsion.

Significant concession won

The deal meant that Steinbach won the significant concession of being able to nominate six members to the board instead of just three.

Federal government culture representative Bernd Neumann admitted the museum had been at the center of "substantial controversy" but said that he hoped real progress would be made on the museum soon.

Neumann added that the questions about BdV members' pasts were outside the scope of the foundation's work.

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Editor: Ben Knight