It was a bright idea to nominate 1995 as the UN Year of Tolerance. It is the year of historic anniversaries — 50 years since Hitler died in his bunker, since World War Two ended, since the United Nations was founded. But now that we have reached the day peace came to Europe, VE Day, (50th anniversary on May 8), governments are making no special effort to preach tolerance.SO poor is the United Nations information effort *c could all be forgiven for not 'knowing that this is the Year of Tolerance. It is a worthy subject for a UN special year and the choice of 1995. the 50th anniversary of the end of World War Two. could hardly have been more ‘appropriate.

Ever since the beginning of January people have been agonising again in Europe and Asia over what happened in 1945. how the events of that year should be marked, how much we should be forgiving and for-.getting and how much we should be celebrating.

For the politicians and their advisers the dilemmas have been many and varied. To what 'extent should the British and the Americans exult at the defeat of two powerful countries with which they now have Close friendship? For the Germans and Japanese is 1945 to be seen as the year of liberation or of humiliating defeat?

How far can they go down the road of self-denigration of their own nation for acts that are so recent and in which fa thers and grandfathers were involved — and may even in some cases have condoned?

Worst of all. to what extent can forgiveness be humanly possible by those who suffered from the unspeakable-Jiorrors perpetrated in the Nazi concentration camps and the Japanese prison camps?

For bow long shpirid we go on reminding ourselves of

these medieval events, which to; those people bOrn in the 1970s and 198Os may now seem almost as remote as the battle oi Omdurman or the War of American Independence?

A balance has to be struck.. Famously. Henry Ford said history is bunk. A more serious-figure the British Victorian historian Sir John Seely, wrote: Politics are vulgar when Ihey are not liberalised by history, and history fades into mere literature when il loses Bight of its relation to practical policies.’'

History is a warning. New generations can only be ex pected to behave better by hav ing some knowledge and un derstandihg of what happened in the past. The Germans are planning a controversial permanent reminder.

They are to build a huge memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe south..of the Brandenburg Gate near the site’ of the bunker where Hitler died. One proposal is that the names of 4.5 million murdered Jews would be engraved on a tablet the size of sports field.

In Hamburg a current exhibition tries to dispel the comfortable myth that the German army (Wehrmacht) fought a brave war and only the elite Nazi SS committed atrocities, which no-one else knew about.

• Visitors are told: "It is time

to accept the reality ol a gigan tic Crime Between 1941 and 1944 the Wehrmacht did not conduct a normal war in the Balkans and the Soviet Union but a war of destruction or extermination against Jews, prisoners of war and the civilian population, millions of whom died "

The exhibition displays let ters written by soldiers at the front describing atrocities, so proving that many people at home did know these things were going on.

Fortunately, in a world that sometimes seems Increasingly intolerant we have already seen this year many examples of tolerance, of forgiving and forgetting.

Time and again in the past few weeks as aged Jews and their children have made their pilgrimages to the former concentration camps of Belsen and Buchenwald, and aged soldiers have visited Colditz prison and even the region of the River Kwai where thousands of their comrades died on the railway. I here has been a remarkable display of forgiving.

A great deal more tolerance is being practised by the people than we have seen so far coming from the politicians, although it is they who de dared this the year of tolerance. So far in 1995 the only

leader who shows much sign of setting an example is President Nelson Mandela of South Africa

Considering that country’s recent past, the show of toler ance there imperfect as it may be. Is remarkable.

We may be seeing the beginning at last of tolerance In Northern Ireland and In Palestine, and there are signs of growing tolerance in rela tlons between the Aborigines and the white population of Australia and between the First Peoples of Canada and those who came later

Here we can gain eotnfort from what has happened In history After all! It is little more than 150 years since Britain abolished slavery and less than that in the United States.

But why are we not seeing any signs of tolerance by the leaders of India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the leaders of Greece and Turkey over Cyprus, of Russia over Chechenya. of Indonesia over East Timor, or the leacfers of Nigeria over their own country?

If the UN can be blamed for not making It better known that .this is the Year of Tolerance, governments seem to have made no greater effort this yeaf to preach tolerance to their people than in any oilier year.

— GEMINI NEWS

DEREK INGRAM Is Consultant Editor of Gemini Nows Service.