Steinmeier begs forgiveness on Warsaw Uprising anniversary

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with some of the few living survivors of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and spoke at commemorations in the Polish capital on Wednesday. 

The 63-day attempt by Polish resistance forces late in World War II to drive Nazi occupiers out of the city, which was ultimately brutally crushed by the German military, began on August 1, 1944. 

"The Warsaw Uprising is one of the bloodiest chapters in the long history that our two peoples, the Poles and the Germans, share with one another. And it is one of the most heroic chapters in Polish history," Steinmeier said.

Steinmeier is only the second German president, after Roman Herzog in 1994, to be invited to speak at the ceremony in Poland. Steinmeier was invited by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

'I ask, here and now, for forgiveness'

The German president said, addressing "particularly the veterans, the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising, who are sitting before me," that there were no words that could do justice to the horror imposed on the city during those two months.

"And so I would like to say just one sentence. But one that comes entirely from the heart and is entirely serious. I ask, here and now, for forgiveness," he said. 

"You, the people of Poland, have never forgotten the Warsaw Uprising and you will never forget it. And we, the Germans, in whose name I have the privilege of addressing you here today, we must not forget it," Steinmeier said.

Steinmeier also acknowledged that German-Polish reconciliation had been a difficult process for both sides, but particularly for Poland, given the horrors of World War II and of the Holocaust, much of which was carried out on occupied Polish soil. 

"I am delighted that we, Germans and Poles, have become good neighbors. It was a long road, and never an easy one for either side. When we consider everything that we have been through, then it is in fact almost a miracle. We can only be thankful for it," he said. 

Nod to latest government bid for World War II memorials, compensation

He also alluded to what Berlin hopes is a recent breakthrough on the contentious topic of reparations or compensation from Germany, namely the latest efforts to come to an accord with the relatively new government led by Donald Tusk. 

After years with the rival nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) in power in Poland, which tends to take a tougher line on Germany than Tusk's coalition, the two countries had been at loggerheads: Poland has long called for financial recompense, often hinting at very large sums payable directly to Poland's government, while Germany's government said the matter had already been legally settled in past treaties. 

During a recent visit to Germany by Tusk, the two governments floated plans for a German-Polish House in Berlin and a forum for remembrance of Polish suffering and the Polish victims of World War II. 

"Many other efforts are underway, including for the remaining survivors of the German occupation. Our two governments are liaising closely on this," Steinmeier said.

Parallels drawn to Ukraine, 'war has come back to Europe'

The German president also drew parallels to the fighting in one of Poland's other neighbors, Ukraine.

"Today, nobody in Europe is fighting as courageously, as heroically as the Ukrainian people. They are fighting for their freedom and their autonomy. They are fighting against a brutal and contemptible aggressor. We, Poles and Germans, stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and will continue to do so," Steinmeier said. 

Germany and Polish ties were also recently frayed, particularly earlier in the war, because of what Poland perceived as German hesitancy in supplying weaponry to Ukraine. 

"Today's anniversary also imposes a duty on us – never again will we accept injustice and tyranny, aggression and occupation in Europe!" he said.

Steinmeier will remain in Poland on Thursday, the anniversary of the first day of the uprising, with talks with President Andrzej Duda a part of his schedule. 

msh/sms (AFP, dpa, KNA)