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Willy Brandt’s kneeling in Warsaw remains a historic gesture of reconciliation 50 years later. “For us Poles, the fact that Chancellor Willy Brandt knelt was very important. There are actions that turn out to be icons that can express more than words, ”said Polish President Andrzej Duda on the anniversary of the. The common memory of this gesture is one of the foundations of good, fair and truth-based Polish-German relations.
“The partnership between Germany and Poland is an important prerequisite for a successful future,” Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a video message. But we will not forget the past either. Not the suffering of the people of Poland, not the historical value of reconciliation and not even a fall of the knee to remind us of all that. “
On behalf of the two heads of state, the head of the Duda Chancellery, Krzysztof Szczerski, and the Secretary of State of the Federal President’s Office, Stephan Steinlein, laid wreaths at the monument to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. There, then-Chancellor Brandt fell to his knees on December 7, 1970. The gesture received worldwide attention as a request for forgiveness for the crimes of the Nazi era and a symbol of reconciliation.
Duda’s office boss asks for a discussion about repairs
On the 50th anniversary, however, all the awards also revealed the differences between the two countries regarding the reconciliation process. The director of Duda’s firm, Szczerski, emphasized that this process was not over yet. Another step is the planned memorial in Berlin for the Polish victims of the “Third Reich,” he told the PAP news agency. The question of compensation for war damage caused by Nazi Germany in Poland should also be clarified. “I think that when it comes to repairs we will be ready at the right time to come to the table and have this discussion.”
Poland’s national conservative ruling party PiS has once again put the question of reparations for war damage caused by the German occupiers in recent years on the table. It could be a high triple digit billion amount. The federal government rejects any claim for redress. For them, the question is closed with the treaty of two plus four on the foreign policy aspects of German unity.
On the German side, no high-ranking representative responded to the Polish claims before or on the anniversary. Steinmeier, however, welcomed the Bundestag’s decision to erect a monument to the Polish victims of WWII in a prominent location in Berlin. »This monument is a visible sign against oblivion. It should also be a constant reminder for a better future, ”he said. At the end of October, the Bundestag asked the federal government to create such a memorial site.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) also came out in favor of such a memorial site in a guest article for the “Passauer Neue Presse”. And he praised Brandt’s policy of détente towards the Soviet Union, the GDR and the other Warsaw Pact states. “Today we live in a Europe for which Willy Brandt laid the foundations,” he wrote. “We are building on his work with a new European Ostpolitik.”
In this context, Maas advocated taking seriously the fears of Central and Eastern European neighbors about Russia. “In addition to offers of dialogue, Germany’s clear positions vis-à-vis Moscow are important for maintaining confidence in Eastern Europe,” he wrote. “Further reconciliation with our eastern neighbors, especially Poland, remains our great task. Willy Brandt’s legacy compels us to do this. “
