I was wondering when this problem was going to be raised:
Rainer Brüderle, deputy leader of the opposition Free Democrats, said Obama’s advisers had little idea of the historical significance of the Victory Column. ‘It was the symbol of German superiority over Denmark, Austria and France,’ Brüderle told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
The monument was built in 1864 to commemorate Prussia’s victory over Denmark. When it was inaugurated, Prussia had defeated Austria during the Austro-Prussian war in 1866 and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.
Get ready for all the “this isn’t the first time a motivating speaker campaigned on hope and change in Berlin” commentary from the polemicists. Still, the choice of the Siegessäule was a bit surprising to me, to say the least, though it’s more concerning that Obama’s upper-level staff couldn’t do the research to know better.