Call things by their name

DATE: 03/27/2015

When I was reading the news German Chancellor Angela 
Merkel talked with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about 
reconciliation Germany achieved with the neighboring 
countries after World War two, it said Merkel referred 
to a 1985 speech by the late German president Richard 
von Weizsaecker in which he called the end of World War 
Two in Europe a "day of liberation" and said those who 
closed their eyes to the past were "blind to the present". 
Asked how Germany was able to reconcile with its one-time 
enemies after the war, Merkel said: "Without big gestures 
by our neighbors that would not have been possible 
... But there was the acceptance in Germany to call things 
by their name." 
I could not understand the meaning of "to call things by 
their name". I was learned it was from Confucius. it means 
"call things by their real name","call a spade a spade" 
or speak honestly directly, outspoken, blunt, even to the 
point of rudeness. For example, It's like "don't tell they 
are not sex slaves or they are mere prostitutes who earned 
a lot of money", something like that I think.

ドイツのメルケル首相がこの間日本に来たとき、安倍首相に第二次世界大戦後にドイツが敵国だった近隣諸国とどのようにして和解を進めたのかを問われ、メルケル首相は１９８５年に行った元ドイツ大統領ヴァイツゼッカーの有名な演説「過去に目を閉ざす者は結局のところ現在にも盲目となります」を引用した後、「ドイツでは物事を真実の言葉で表現することを許容した」と語った。日本のように「従軍慰安婦」をどこにでもある売春婦の一種として正当化しようとするのとはかなり違っているということのようだ。　　　　　　（2015年3月27日記）