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Polish, German, Israeli presidents to honour WWII Warsaw ghetto fighters

19.04.2023 07:30
The German and Israeli presidents are expected to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the World War II Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during a visit to Poland on Wednesday.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which broke out on April 19, 1943 and lasted until May 16, was the first uprising in German Nazi-occupied Europe and the largest act of armed resistance by Jews in World War II.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which broke out on April 19, 1943 and lasted until May 16, was the first uprising in German Nazi-occupied Europe and the largest act of armed resistance by Jews in World War II.Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Israel's Isaac Herzog will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and attend a remembrance ceremony together in Warsaw, officials have said.

Both visiting leaders are scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Duda before noon to discuss security and their countries' relations with Poland, according to officials.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Israel's President Isaac Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Photo: EPA/RONALD WITTEK

Marcin Przydacz, a top foreign policy adviser to the Polish head of state, told reporters on Tuesday that Duda's talks with Steinmeier and Herzog would focus on "security in the context of Russian aggression in Ukraine and how the international community should respond to Russia's aggressive behaviour."

Another key focus of the talks will be "historical policy and remembrance of Nazi crimes in Poland," Przydacz said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda. Polish President Andrzej Duda. Photo: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP 

The Warsaw Ghetto, established in the autumn of 1940, was the largest of all the Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Europe during World War II. In the summer of 1942, a quarter of a million of its residents were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp.

A section of the historic wall of the Warsaw Ghetto at 62 Złota Street. A section of the historic wall of the Warsaw Ghetto at 62 Złota Street. Photo: Adrian Grycuk [CC BY-SA 3.0 pl (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/pl/deed.en)]via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Photo: PAP/DPA

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which broke out on April 19, 1943 and lasted until May 16, was the first uprising in German Nazi-occupied Europe and the largest act of armed resistance by Jews in World War II. It is estimated that about 13,000 insurgents died in the ghetto during the revolt.

Some surviving Jewish combatants later fought in the Warsaw Uprising, launched by Poland's underground Home Army (AK) on August 1, 1944.

The Polish president in December 2018 paid tribute to the last surviving Warsaw ghetto fighter who died in Israel at the age of 94.

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Source: IAR, PAP