In an annual dawn ritual, Poland commemorated the first strikes by Nazi Germany that led to the commencement of World War II and recognized 85 years since that time.
In the struggle that claimed the lives of over 50 million people, including the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust—half of them Poles—nearly six million Poles perished.
The customary location of the Sunday memorial service was Westerplatte, on the Baltic coast of Poland, the exact spot where, 85 years earlier to the day, a Nazi German warship had opened fire on a Polish fort.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk compared the conflict in neighboring Ukraine to the lessons learned during World War II, saying that the latter was “not an abstraction” when speaking at Westerplatte.
“This war is coming again from the east,” he stated.
“Fully devoted to defense… against the aggression that we are witnessing today on the battlefields of Ukraine,” he urged NATO members.
Following Adolf Hitler’s assaults on Poland, Britain and France declared war on the German Nazi regime. In response, Poland was invaded by the Soviet Union on September 17.
The Axis powers, led by Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the victorious Allied forces, led by Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, engaged in combat after the Nazis broke their agreement with Moscow.
Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, participated in ceremonies at Wielun, a city in western Poland, where the first bombs dropped on Germany were dropped 85 years ago.
“Sorry” from Germany was insufficient, according to Duda, who also demanded compensation and said, “This issue is not settled.”
Poland claims that there are still unsolved issues even though the conflict began 85 years ago.
Under the leadership of Tusk, Poland’s current pro-EU administration has pushed Germany to reimburse the nation financially for losses incurred at the hands of Nazi soldiers.
It mirrored a previous comparable campaign by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which was defeated in the election held in October.
A memorial to the Polish victims of the Nazis was mentioned by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his visit to honor the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, a futile uprising against occupying forces.
“There are numerous additional initiatives in progress, some of which are for the surviving German occupation survivors. On this, our two countries are communicating closely,” he stated.
However, Steinmeier did not go into additional detail about the potential compensation plans.
Polish media reports state that negotiations between Warsaw and Berlin are taking on over monetary reparations to the living victims of Nazi Germany; Poland projects that up to 70,000 individuals could qualify.
