German President Steinmeier asks for forgiveness on the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising

German President Steinmeier met with Warsaw Uprising veterans and asked for forgiveness for the 1944 revolt against the Nazis, which resulted in the death of 200,000 people and the destruction of Warsaw. Poland has been urging Germany for WWII compensation, and Steinmeier spoke of plans for a Berlin memorial.

The Warsaw Uprising was a desperate resistance by the Polish Home Army against the German occupiers, and despite initial successes, the Nazis responded with extreme brutality. The Red Army, the assassination attempt on Hitler, and the Allied landing in Normandy put pressure on the Nazi regime, but they did not intervene.

The uprising is often confused with the 1943 uprising of the Jewish population interned in the Warsaw Ghetto. Steinmeier also condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pledged continued support for Ukraine's EU membership.