Free Republic

Caution advised in Polish German relations 14.08.2006 Poland’s former foreign minister and Euro deputy of the Democratic Party Bronis³aw Geremek considers that the present achievements on the Polish German road to reconciliation are being wasted. Geremek said that both sides have to be blamed for the situation. Speaking for Polish Radio early this morning Geremek said he was always wary of the idea of setting up a Center for Expellees in Berlin, since he said the move is aimed at promoting the political career of Erica Steinbach.With such a plan Erika Steinbach, , draws a black line on the process...

Expellee group says it cannot afford inquiry into ex-Nazis links Aug 12, 2006, 16:02 GMT Berlin - The German refugee group that angered Poland's leaders this week with a Berlin exhibition about ethnic purges has said it cannot afford to investigate any failings in its own past. Erika Steinbach, president of the Federation of Expellees, an organization representing Germans expelled from eastern Europe after World War II, told the German news magazine Der Spiegel, 'That would cost money that we don't have.' The expellees, who sought for decades to recover their lost property, were regularly accused by communist governments of...

A museum exhibition in Berlin is threatening to accelerate the recent downward spiral in German-Polish relations only weeks after Warsaw reacted with outrage when a German newspaper jokingly compared the Polish president to a potato. The Polish embassy in Berlin said yesterday it was "critical" of the exhibition, due to open last night, on the plight of tens of millions of Germans and other Europeans expelled from their home regions during the 20th century. ADVERTISEMENT The harsh words from Warsaw arose because the installation, covering 600 sq m in a prominent central Berlin museum, is organised by Erika Steinbach, a...