Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened a new chapter in German reconciliation with Poland at weekend commemorations of the doomed World War II Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, but a row over reparations is far from over Polish politicians and media said on Monday.
Prime Minister Marek Belka told reporters on Monday Schroeder made "a step in the right direction" when he became the first head of a German government to attend the anniversary of the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, in which 200,000 were killed and the whole city destroyed.
Poland's press hailed Schroeder's frank acknowledgement of his country's shame, during a visit of several hours in which he embraced a former resistance fighter with tears in his eyes and bowed before a memorial to the uprising.
"The acknowledgement of the guilt and Germany's responsibility in the war, in which Poland was victim was marked unequivocally," centre-left Rzespospolita said in an editorial.
However, Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz warned that Schroeder's dismissal of reparations demands by Germans expelled from Poland after the war did not close an issue which has dogged relations between the two neighbours.
Comments
Comments are closed.