Germany returns cross stolen by Nazis

20/10/2010

BERLIN — Germany has returned a Serb Orthodox relic, stolen by occupying Nazi troops during the Second World War.

The handover ceremony was held on Tuesday at the Serbian embassy in Berlin, said reports. Religious dignitaries and officials from both countries attended.

This is the first time that such an act took place, and diplomatic circles in Berlin are saying that it is a sign of certain changes in the relations between Serbia and Germany, and also of the two countries’ church and diplomatic activities, Tanjug reports.

The golden cross, containing a carved wooden cross within it, was made in Prizren, and was stolen from the Serb Orthodox monastery of Žiča. The monastery, built more than eight centuries ago, was also the target of bombing during the war.

The cross was given to the monastery in 1889 by Serbian King Aleksandar Obrenović.

After the end of the war, a German soldier gave the stolen cross to the the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the German town of Paderborn. In 1991, a Serbian Orthodox Church priest based in Dortmund saw the relic by chance.

In 2003, the SPC and the diplomatic service started activities aimed at returning the cross to the country.

Germany has a department within its foreign ministry that deals with cultural treasures stolen by Nazis throughout Europe and the world, and it also with the return of German cultural treasures that disappeared during WW2.

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