On June 4, 2004, Gerhard Schroder became the first German chancellor to stand alongside the leaders of Germany's wartime enemies in France, marking the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings, which were a prelude to the end for the Third Reich.

"Hugely symbolic," Schroder, who accepted the invitation from then-French President Jacques Chirac, said of his attendance in France. "It means World War II is finally over."

Such a hugely symbolic moment has yet to occur in Asia.