WARSAW — Germany’s president asked for forgiveness for his country on Sunday for the suffering of the Polish people during World War II as Poland marked 80 years since the Nazi German invasion that unleashed the deadliest conflict in human history.
The ceremonies began at 4:30 a.m. in the small town of Wielun, site of one of the first bombings of the war on Sept. 1, 1939, with speeches by Polish President Andrzej Duda and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Few places saw death and destruction on the scale of Poland. It lost about a fifth of its population, including the vast majority of its 3 million Jewish citizens.
After the war, the shattered capital of Warsaw had to rise again from ruins, and Poland remained under Soviet domination until 1989.
“As a German guest I walk before you here barefoot. I look back in gratitude to the Polish people’s fight for freedom. I bow sorrowfully before the suffering of the victim,” Mr. Steinmeier said at an event later in Warsaw.
“I ask for forgiveness for Germany’s historical guilt. I profess to our lasting responsibility,” he said.
Vice President Mike Pence paid tribute to the courage of the Polish people.
“None fought with more valor, determination, and righteous fury than the Poles,” Mr. Pence told the gathering of leaders in Warsaw that included German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Mr. Pence attended the ceremony instead of President Trump, who canceled because of Hurricane Dorian.
“America and Poland will continue to call on our allies to live up to the promises we have made to one another,” said Mr. Pence, who will hold bilateral talks on Monday.
Politicians in Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party have called for war reparations from Germany, one of Poland’s biggest trade partners and a fellow member of the European Union and NATO.
Several onlookers yelled “reparations” after Mr. Steinmeier spoke.
Berlin has said all financial claims linked to World War II have been settled, but Mr. Steinmeier continued with his theme of responsibility.
“Because Germany — despite its history — was allowed to grow to new strength in Europe, we Germans must do more for Europe,” he said.
Conspicuously absent from Sunday’s events was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He attended Sept. 1 events in Poland 10 years ago, but wasn’t invited this time, reflecting a change in relations after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
“There could be different assessments of the Soviet policy at the early stage of the Second World War. But one cannot deny the fact that it was the Soviet Union, which defeated Nazism, liberated Europe, and saved European democracy from the annihilation,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
Poland was holding a series of commemorations during the day. Parallel events, attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and European Commission deputy chief Frans Timmermans, were held in the coastal city of Gdansk, site of one of war’s first battles.
First Published September 2, 2019, 1:58 a.m.
