- Warschauer Kniefall
Warschauer Kniefall (German for "
Warsaw Genuflection ") refers to a gesture of humility and penance by social democraticChancellor of Germany Willy Brandt towards the victims of theWarsaw Ghetto Uprising . [ [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1971/press.html The Nobel Peace Prize 1971 Presentation Speech] (from theNobel Prize website)]Incident
The incident took place during visit to a monument to the Nazi-era
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising onDecember 7 ,1970 , in what was then thecommunist People's Republic of Poland . After laying down awreath , Brandt, very surprisingly, and to all appearances spontaneously, knelt. He remained silently in that position for a short time, surrounded by a large group of dignitaries and press photographers.It should be noted in this context that Brandt himself had actively resisted the early Nazi regime, and had spent most of the time of Hitler's reign in
exile . The occasion of Brandt's visit to Poland at the time was the signing of the Treaty of Warsaw betweenWest Germany and thePeoples Republic of Poland , guaranteeing German acceptance of the new borders of Poland. The treaty was one of the Brandt-initiated policy steps (the 'Ostpolitik ') to ease tensions between West and East during theCold War .Reaction
In Germany
Brandt's action was very controversial and unpopular with many Germans, especially conservatives and liberals but also some social democrats; Brandt was also heavily criticized by the press for being unpatriotic. According to a "
Der Spiegel " survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the "Kniefall" was exaggerated, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion.Fact|date=May 2007It was also one of many arguments the opposition used to put forth a
Constructive Vote of No Confidence in April 1972 against Brandt, which he survived by only two votes. It was revealed later that at least one (possibly two) members of the conservative opposition had been paid off by theStasi to vote in favor of Brandt. ["Spionagechef im geheimen Krieg: Erinnerungen" (German) - Wolf, Markus, Mai 1997, ISBN 3-471-79158-2]Internationally
While at the time, positive reactions may have been limited, his show of humility was a small but vital step in bridging the gaps
World War II had left betweenGermany andEastern Europe . In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act, and it is thought to be one of the reasons he received theNobel Peace Prize in 1971.Brandt's memories
Brandt was repeatedly interviewed about the genuflection and about his motives. He later noted that:
:(German original) "Unter der Last der jüngsten Geschichte tat ich, was Menschen tun, wenn die Worte versagen. So gedachte ich Millionen Ermordeter." [ [http://www.willy-brandt.org/bwbs_biografie/Kniefall_in_Warschau_B172.html Kniefall in Warschau] (German) (from the willy-brandt.org website)]
:(English translation) "Under the weight of recent history, I did what people do when words fail them. In this way I commemorated millions of murdered people." [Unofficial translation of the above lines in a German interview of Brandt]
See also
*
Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops References
External links
* [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/KontinuitaetUndWandel_zeitschriftSpiegelKniefallBrandt/index.html Image of Brandt in front of the monument]
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