Germany, Poland hail improved ties in historic city

reuters.com ^ | Jun 16, 2008 | Gabriela Baczynska

[Tailgunner Joe]

GDANSK, Poland, June 16 (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and Poland crowned an improvement in ties on Monday with pledges of cooperation and a walkabout in the Baltic port of Gdansk, a city once the cause of tension between the neighbours.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeted local well-wishers with "Dzien Dobry", Polish for "Good Day", on her first official trip to Poland since centrist Donald Tusk became prime minister after winning elections last autumn.

"The Chancellor and I are convinced our efforts to bring our relations to the right level of trust and cordial cooperation are bringing results," Tusk told a joint news conference.

"On issues such as history, cooperation in the European Council and the climate package, we are more and more often finding common ground," he said before the two leaders took a stroll in the old town of Gdansk, known in German as Danzig.

The convivial tone contrasted strongly with that of the previous conservative government of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose twin brother Lech remains Poland's president.

Critics of the Kaczynskis accused them of fomenting anti-German sentiment linked to Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. Bilateral strains acquired a personal flavour when a German paper billed the pair as "Poland's new potatoes".

The choice of Gdansk for the Merkel-Tusk talks underlined the leaders' desire to lay historic tensions to rest.

The city has been both Polish and German at different times in its long history. Warsaw's refusal to hand it to German dictator Adolf Hitler in the 1930s helped trigger the Nazi invasion of Poland and the start of World War Two.

MUSEUM DIPLOMACY

Tusk, a native of Gdansk, said he and Merkel discussed Polish plans to build a World War Two museum in the city.

"As soon as the concept (of the museum) is ready we will start inviting European countries, Germany among them, to cooperate," he told the news conference.

Germany's League of Expellees has said the Polish project should not become a substitute for their vision of a separate museum. Eastern European critics of the League's plan fear it may portray Germans as victims of a war which the Nazis started.

"If we are asked we would gladly participate (on the Gdansk museum). I think this is very exciting, a very good idea that we can all learn from," Merkel said.

Merkel cited plans for a joint German-Polish history book as a further example of efforts to promote mutual understanding.

Tusk said Merkel had backed a joint Polish-Swedish proposal for an Eastern Partnership to help prepare ex-Soviet repulics such as Ukraine for eventual membership of the European Union.

Poland, which with strong German backing joined the EU in 2004, has emerged as a robust advocate for the bloc's further eastern expansion into former Soviet territory.

Merkel and Tusk also discussed Warsaw's concerns that EU plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions are too ambitious and could harm Poland's economic growth. Poland derives 95 percent of its energy from environmentally-unfriendly coal.

"The Chancellor's declaration that we will cooperate on this issue is a very important sign for us," Tusk said.

Poland has previously said it is preparing scenarios to prevent the full auctioning of carbon dioxide emission permits due to start in 2013.

"We will exchange ideas on this, we must help each other," said Merkel.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Germany, Poland say EU treaty ratification should continue without isolating Ireland - 06/16/2008 - GDANSK, Poland (AP) - The German and Polish leaders said Monday that European Union countries should press ahead with ratifying the reform treaty rejected by Irish voters, but vowed not to isolate Ireland as they seek a way out of the crisis.

The charter, meant to replace the failed EU constitution, was rejected in an Irish referendum on Thursday -- the only popular vote planned in the bloc. The treaty requires the ratification of all 27 EU members, leaving EU leaders scrambling to salvage their reform plans.

In a brief visit to the Polish city of Gdansk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for pressing ahead with ratification of the treaty, designed to simplify decision-making and give the EU a stronger voice in the world.

"I absolutely support the position that the ratification processes, wherever possible, must be continued in the individual member states," Merkel said at a news conference alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. She also argued that the treaty is vital to further expansion of the EU into the western Balkans, whose stability is critical to Europe's well-being. "We need the Lisbon Treaty because we want to expand the EU," she said.

That point was echoed in starker terms by the European Parliament. A statement by leaders of the parliament's political groups said that any further EU enlargement is "barely conceivable" without the so-called Lisbon Treaty.

Senior EU lawmakers urged the remaining eight countries who have not yet ratified the treaty to do so. They urged EU leaders, who are scheduled to meet at a summit in Brussels later this week, to "take all appropriate steps" to push the treaty through by June 2009 despite the Irish rejection.

Merkel said that "we can only find a solution together with Ireland." Tusk stressed that EU members "need to understand" why Ireland voted "no," and address its concerns.

"Jointly with Ireland, we need to seek a way out of this stalemate," he said. "We are sure that we will find this way."

Tusk argued for ratification to go ahead "at the most intensive pace possible in all remaining 26 nations. This should give time for Ireland to precisely say what we should jointly do for Ireland to rejoin the process."

[Clemenza]

Hmm. A summit in GERMAN DANZIG, as Pat Buchanan would say. ;-)

[Perdogg]

I was watching the Eurocup match between Germany and Poland and the announcer said “Germany continues its dominance over Poland”. I had to laugh.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for posting. In 1945, my 80 year old great Grandfather was kicked out of his home of 50 years in the Danzig district of Langfuhr and forced to march back to Germany. He was forced to leave with about 10 minutes notice with nothing but the clothes he wore. He had to leave behind his home, investment properties and a factory he owned — all confiscated by the communists. He walked to Germany with his 60 year old daughter (my Grandfather’s aunt) who went mad. My great Grandfather lived pretty much penniless in the Cologne area until he died in 1950.

My daughter visited Danzig last year and saw the old family home in Langfuhr. Other than being somewhat run down, it looked almost exactly like it did in a photo we have taken in the 1920s.

Our family never saw a penny from the confiscated properties in Danzig.

[submarinerswife]

I have a great respect for Poland. They really appreciate what freedom really is, unlike some Americans who have never lost it.

They are close friends of the US in spite of efforts of Libs who like to marginalize their role in Iraq.

[Grzegorz 246]

That was really stupid. All those Germanics should have stayed and become servants of their former victims.

[Cronos]

Germans as victims of a war which the Nazis started.

Well, Germans were, ultimately victims as historically German parts of the Czech Repulic, Poland, Slovakia, the Baltics, Hungary,etc. etc. had Germanics running to Germany in fear of retribution.

Retribution is the key word -- while i'm sure your great-grandfather didn't take part in any of the acts, it is a fact that Nazi Germans treated Slavs like vermin to be cleared away for German Lebenstraum

When the Nazis lost, the slavic populations took out their pent up rage against the Germans.

M. Hitler destroyed the German people.

[Cronos]

Grzegorz --> you can't make that blanket statement about POF's great-grandad. He may or may not have been involved in any of these, if he was involved, he may have been coerced or, like many others, gone along with it with little protests. We don't know, so your statement is a bit insensitive to POF --> unless we know the facts for this particular case, we can't make a blanket statement

Finally, I think it's great that Germany and Poland are putting their past behind them and moving on.

[Kozik]

Now compare this to the fate of Polish Post Office in Danzig (exterritiorial property of Poland!) defenders (bullet in the head) and to the fate of defenders of Polish Military Transit Depot on Westerplatte (part of Gdansk, also exterritiorial property of Poland). Compare it to the fate of Poles and Jews living in Gdansk (death in camp of Stutthof).

Germans (not nazis, Germans!) tried to annihilate Poles and other nations, so they had to pay for this.

Apart from what most of Germans think, Gdansk (Danzig) was built by Poles and became home for many nations: Poles, Germans, Dutches (is it good description for people from the Netherlands?) living in harmony for centuries, and had it good time under the Polish crown (that is why there is a crown on coat of arms of Gdansk).

My family also lost their property taken by commies. But without Germans and their WW2 there would be no commies in Poland.

PS 1. I am not saying your grand granpa was nazi. I can’t even imagine how hard it was for an 80-year old man to leave his life behind. But Gdansk has been liberated by Red Army - I don’t think Poles did any harm to your family. Also, Gdansk has been almost completely destroyed during “liberation” and rebuilt by Poles. Again, all this just because of Germans.

PS 2. To all Freepers: if you’d like to verify what I wrote take a look at Wikipedia and search for:

a) Danzig
b) Westerplatte
c) Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig
d) Stutthof concentration camp

[Malesherbes]

Gdansk (Danzig) is a handsome city. To the Poles great credit they carefully rebuilt this and other cities (e.g. Wroclaw/Breslau), and even the old Teutonic citadel of Malbork (Marienburg) - in contrast to what the Russians did to Konigsburg (Kaliningrad,) once a fine city which now looks like Irkutsk.

The history of these places is complex. I spent the month of May in Slansk (Silesien/Silesia) which once was part of Piast Poland, then Bohemia, then Austria, then Prussia, then Germany, and now Poland again.