Komorowski addresses Bundestag

In a series of events connected to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Komorowski spoke to the German parliament, or Bundestag.

Also taking part in the extraordinary sitting of parliament were German President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel and parliamentary speaker, Stephan Weil.

Komorowski is the first Polish president to speak at the Bundestag. Two Polish foreign ministers, Władysław Bartoszewski in 1995 and Bronisław Geremek in 2002, have spoken at the German parliament.

On 1 September last year President Gauck took part in the 75th anniversary of the start of the war at Westerplatte, near Gdańsk in northern Poland.

Both presidents said at the time that the experience of the war was a lesson for avoiding contemporary conflicts, among others in eastern Europe.

Komorowski said the war had been “preceded by appeasement of the aggressive policies of the Third Reich, which redrew borders, broke international laws, applied military pressures and disregarded arms agreements.”

“History teaches us that ceding territory often reinforces the appetite of the aggressor,” Gauck said.

The two heads of state also stressed German-Polish unity. In July 2014 they jointly inaugurated an exhibition in Berlin devoted to the Warsaw Rising to mark its 70th anniversary a month later. (jh)