German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to visit Poland for a two-day trip to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. During his visit, he will pay respects at the cemetery of the insurgents and meet with former resistance fighters.
The central memorial event will take place at Krasinskich Square, where Steinmeier will deliver a commemorative speech. The Warsaw Uprising, led by the Polish Home Army, lasted for 63 days before being brutally crushed by the German occupiers.
Nearly 200,000 resistance fighters and civilians lost their lives during the uprising. Germany plans to establish a memorial for the Polish victims and is exploring potential compensation measures.
Poland's government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has urged Germany to provide financial compensation. President Steinmeier's request for forgiveness for the Nazi atrocities committed during the Warsaw Uprising is accompanied by calls for reparations from some national conservatives, while the new center-left government remains cautious.
The German government, however, considers the issue of reparations to be legally closed. Steinmeier will be accompanied by Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, and a German-Polish House of Remembrance is being planned in Berlin.
