Harald Welzer criticizes long applause for Ukrainian peace prize winner

cultural sociologist

Welzer criticizes long applause for Ukrainian peace prize winner – Melnyk counters

As of 1:28 p.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

Harald Welzer, sociologist and publicist, at the lit.Cologne Spezial literature festival

Source: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd

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The Ukrainian author Serhij Zhadan has received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. In his acceptance speech, he warned against false pacifism. Sociologist Harald Welzer now criticized the great jubilation for the speech – and was immediately contradicted by ex-ambassador Melnyk.

Dhe sociologist Harald Welzer has criticized the minute-long standing ovations for the Ukrainian author Serhij Zhadan at the awarding of the Peace Prize in Frankfurt’s Paulskirche. In Germany, everyone felt constantly called upon to adopt the perspective of the attacked Ukrainians, Welzer said on Monday evening at the Lit.Cologne Spezial in Cologne.

In fact, Germany is not a war party, but a third party with all the possibilities that this opens up for the benefit of Ukraine. “This permanent mix-up, which leads to applause lasting several minutes when such statements are made, is this overexertion in terms of ethics.”

In his speech in Frankfurt, Zhadan criticized that some European intellectuals and politicians accused the Ukrainians of refusing to surrender. This speaks of a false pacifism. Apparently, some are willing to “swallow total, uninhibited evil once more” in favor of personal material gains.

Welzer said in Cologne: “Honestly speaking – another critical comment, which I’ll probably get in trouble for again: The change in civilized speech, which is expressed, among other things, in certain sentences by the Peace Prize winner in relation to the opponents – I understand that psychologically from his perspective, I don’t want to criticize at all – but they are not a contribution to civilization, they are part of a decivilizing process that has been initiated by others. And the actual cultural achievement of us, the third parties, would consist precisely in not allowing ourselves to be drawn into this decivilization process.”

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Criticism of Welzer’s objection came directly from Ukraine. Ex-Germany ambassador Andriy Melnyk attacked the scientist harshly on Twitter. “Professor Dr. Harald Welzer is a real eyesore for German science & a moral scum for German society. Ugh,” Melnyk wrote on Tuesday.

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