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Berlin monument to show Poland’s suffering in WWII: German president

18.06.2021 09:00
A planned new monument in Berlin will show the suffering and destruction Poland experienced at the hands of Nazi Germany in World War II, the German president has said.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a meeting with young people at Warsaws Royal Castle on Thursday.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a meeting with young people at Warsaw's Royal Castle on Thursday.Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara

Speaking in the Polish capital on Thursday, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the new monument, mandated by a resolution by his country's parliament, would be erected in the very heart of the German capital.

“It will be a place that will show to modern generations the enormity of suffering and unimaginable destruction that Poland experienced during the war," he said during a meeting with young people at Warsaw's Royal Castle.

“It will be a place of historical interest, but at the same time a German-Polish as well as European site—a monument, but also a meeting place,” he added, as quoted by public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency.

Steinmeier visited Warsaw on Thursday to hold face-to-face talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda and to attend a debate on people-to-people relations between the two countries.

His visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Polish-German Treaty of Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation.

Signed on June 17, 1991, the landmark agreement set the two neighbouring nations on a path of reconciliation several decades after Nazi Germany inflicted mass destruction on Poland during World War II.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR