German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with veterans of the Warsaw Uprising in Poland and asked for their “forgiveness” ahead of the 80th anniversary of the revolt, according to Euractiv.
The armed uprising against Nazi Germany’s forces broke out on 1 August 1944 and lasted for two months before being suppressed. Some 200,000 people, mostly civilians, died in 63 days of fighting, with the Polish capital turned into ruins.
There are no words that do justice to this horror… I ask, here and now, for forgiveness.
The uprising of some 50,000 fighters against better-equipped German troops is widely regarded as the most tragic in Polish history. According to the Warsaw Rising Museum, established to commemorate the uprising, only about 400 former fighters remain alive.
Poland’s current government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, called on Germany to issue financial compensation for the losses the country suffered at the hands of German troops during World War II.
However, Steinmeier did not provide any further details about possible compensation measures. During his visit to Warsaw, he spoke about the German government’s plans to erect a memorial to Polish victims of the Nazis in Berlin.
Many other efforts are underway, including for the remaining survivors of the German occupation. Our two governments are liaising closely on this.
